LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THINGS NEW AND OLD 



SERMONS 



/ 

E. P. HERBRUCK, 

Pastor of Trinity Reformed Church, Canton, Ohio 



77? 7 ^ 



MADE BY 
THE WERNER COMPANY, 
AKRON, OHIO 
1895 



Copyright, 1895. 

BY 

E. P. Herbruck. 



TO 

THE OFFICE-BEARERS AXD 
MEMBERS OF TRINITY REFORMED CHURCH 
THIS VOLUME 
IS GRATEFULLY AXD AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED BY THE 
AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

I. The Outlook of the World, .... 6 

II. Christian Marriage, ....... 38 

III. The Folly of Atheism, 60 

IV. The Christian and his Wealth, . . . . 80 
V. The Sunday Question, 101 

VI. A Comparative Estimate of Christianity, . 120 

VII. Good Citizenship, 139 

VIII. Thanksgiying Sermon, . . . . ' . . . 157 

IX. On Earth Peace, • 177 

X. The True Teacher, 186 

XI. The Good Shepherd, 206 

XII. Reasonableness and Efficacy of Prayer, . 226 

XIII. Christ in the Garden, 245 

XIV. The Disciples in the Storm, 261 

XV. The Savior's Passion, 276 



1 ' And in the days of these Kings shall the God of Heaven 
set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the 
Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break 
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand 
forever." — Daniel II: 44. 



THINGS NEW AND OLD. 



I. 

THE OUTLOOK OF THE WORLD. 

It is our humble belief that the world is slowly 
but surely growing better. This hopeful view, it 
is likely, some of our hearers do not share. And 
such are not without grounds for their position. 
In some respects the world is getting both bet- 
ter and worse. There is upon earth a kingdom 
of evil and a kingdom of good. Both are ex- 
pansive and growing. This appears from Christ's 
parable of the wheat and the tares. The great 
lord of the field has said, " Let both grow to- 
gether until the harvest ; the harvest is the end 
of the world." The tares become ranker as the 
wheat matures. Wickedness committed in the 
clearer light of conquering Christianity is bolder 

and more heinous. Education and culture make 

(7) 



s 



Tilings Neiv and Old. 



the villain more crafty and successful. The 
present fierce opposition to Christianity is ex- 
plained by the fact that the gospel is winning 
victories. A weak and dying cause would not 
stir up its enemies to such activity. Holiness 
and sin, good and evil, are side bv side. Each 
is advancing and the contest between them will 
continue until the end of the world. " Of the 
increase of his kingdom and peace there shall 
be no end." And also, " Evil men and seducers 
shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being 
deceived." Yet it appears to us that the good 
is gradually gaining upon the evil, and begin- 
ning to assert its power with an emphasis that 
finally, at the second coming of Christ, will 
amount to a complete triumph. 

The future of the world is dependent upon 
the future of Christianity. Outside of religion 
there is no hope for the race. The outlook of 
the world is substantially identical with the out- 
look of Christianity. And the only data for 
determining the future of Christianity are fur- 
nished by its past record and its present con- 
dition. It is impossible to read the history of 
the Christian religion without being impressed 
with its remarkable vitality and marvelous 



The Outlook of the World. 



9 



growth. Its unexampled success in the first 
centuries of its existence, without the aid of 
learning or political favor, but against their 
united opposition, is ample surety that no hu- 
man or satanic power can become sufficiently 
strong to overwhelm it." Its survival of the 
corruptions that grew out of the unholy alli- 
ance of the church with political power, its 
effective protest against the evils that had 
stealthily crept into its organization during 
the darkness of the Middle Ages, is an earnest 
of future victory over all opposing forces from 
within and from without. Only a divine reli- 
gion could pass safely through such struggles 
and successfully combat the gigantic forms of 
vice and error that have appeared. We cannot 
conceive of any storms so violent as to wreck 
this ship of church and baffle its divine pilot. 
Judging the future from the past, we are led 
to believe that Christianity will continue dom- 
inant in the world and that it will make other 
and still greater triumphs. That the church of 
Christ, with its elevating and ennobling influ- 
ences, is going forth " conquering and to con- 
quer," is not simply a matter of opinion, but a 
matter of promise and a matter of fact. 



IO 



Things New and Old. 



L Statistics, so far as they are available, 
show an encouraging growth on the part of 
the church. At the close of the first century 
there were 500,000 Christians in the world ; 
at the close of the tenth, 50,000,000 ; at the 
close of the nineteenth, 400,000,000. These 
figures, of course, are a mere approximation 
to the actual facts ; yet they are interesting 
and instructive. Plainly as a finger-post they 
point to the time when the Holy Spirit shall 
descend upon every land, and " the ploughman 
shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of 
grapes him that soweth seed ; " when it shall 
be said, " Who shall count the dust of Jacob 
or the number of the fourth part of Israel ?" 

Of all religious statistics available, those rela- 
tive to our own country are the most com-' 
plete, and naturally of the most interest to us. 
In the year 1800 there was, according to Dor- 
chester, one communicant to every ten of the 
country's population; and in the year 1890, 
according to the government census, there was 
one communicant to every three of the inhabi- 
tants. During the decade from 1880 to 1890, 
the increase in the population was 29 per cent, 
and the increase in church membership 46 



The Outlook of the World, 1 1 

per cent. ; so that the increase in church mem- 
bership was 17 per cent, greater than that of 
the population. The total number of commu- 
nicants in the country to-day is 20,488,670, and 
the religious population at least 46,000,000. 
This indicates an enormous growth, and does 
not quite accord with the representations, nor 
substantiate the fears of those who believe that 
everything is going to the bad until the Lord 
shall appear in the great glory of his second 
coming, to establish his reign on earth. With 
all the assaults of vice and unbelief, the Chris- 
tian church, as represented by the evangelical 
denominations, is making rapid and substantial 
gains. 

II. Another indication that the church is 
growing and will continue to grow, is the in- 
terest and activity manifested in the work of 
missions. This is the century that has wit- 
nessed the revival of missions by which the 
American churches support almost as many 
teachers and missionaries, in foreign lands as 
pastors at home. This is the century that has 
seen conquests of the gospel as great and far- 
reaching as those of all previous centuries com- 



12 



Things New and Old. 



bined. A remarkable enthusiasm has been en- 
kindled on this important subject, and it is 
constantly on the increase. As an illustration 
of this unparalleled zeal, there is a single church 
in the city of New York (that of the Rev. A. 
B. Simpson), a church with no rich men in its 
membership, that sends out this year 100 for- 
eign missionaries, and has contributed in the 
past six months $118,500 toward furthering 
the Gospel in heathen lands. We are certain 
the record of missionary benevolence from the 
time of the Apostle Paul to the present day 
has nothing to compare with this. 

In the early ages Christianity had devotees 
who became martyrs in defense of its exist- 
ence ; in the present age it has a noble gal- 
axy of martyrs in propagating its principles. 
Our missionaries, Williams and Patteson, who 
were eaten by the cannibals of the South Sea 
Islands, are worthy a place by the side of 
Polycarp and Phocus. 

Our zeal and heroism now manifested in 
spreading the gospel. of Jesus, is equal to that 
of the first Christians in retaining their belief 
in it. I have profound reverence for the sol- 
itary and friendless Christian who stood in the 



The Outlook of the World. 



13 



arena, calmly waved a last farewell to old 
Caesar, and then engaged in bloody contest with 
man or beast until he sank lifeless in the dust, 
yielding himself a witness to Christ and a sac- 
rifice to Roman depravity ; but not less worthy 
of our reverence and gratitude are the men who 
have lately laid down their lives for Christ in 
foreign lands. 

A company of English soldiers, captured dur- 
ing the Sepoy rebellion in India, were offered 
the alternative of renouncing the Christian re- 
ligion and embracing that of the rebels, or 
being murdered by all the horrible ways that 
the hate and rage of the heathen could invent. 
They died to a man as Christians. Does the 
history of the church present anything more 
brave and heroic ? With the present spirit of 
self-denial and self-sacrifice, what a glorious 
prospect opens up to Christianity ! With the 
present missionary enthusiasm and mode of 
working, we have no doubt that the time will 
soon be at hand when " earth's remotest na- 
tions shall hear Messiah's name." 

III. The condition and work of the Sunday 
School augurs well for the future of the church 



14 



Things New and Old. 



and the race. It has reached a stage approach- 
ing perfection. The first Sunday School of the 
present kind was founded only one hundred 
and thirteen years ago ; yet it has become a 
powerful auxiliary to the church. The best 
talent and intelligence of the age are brought 
to bear upon the rising generation through the 
Sunday School. An army of pious, consecrated 
men and women are devoting their best efforts 
to the religious instruction of the young. The 
Bible is now studied by about ten million chil- 
dren in the Sunday Schools of our land alone. 
Every possible art and appliance that the mod- 
ern mind can invent are brought into requisi- 
tion in the work of simplifying and making 
plain the truth of God and instilling it into 
the heart of the scholar. The Sunday School 
has in its service a teaching corps of almost 
equal ability to that of the secular school and 
of greater consecration. Without the aid of the 
public purse, it has at its disposal one million 
officers and teachers of the highest type of 
manhood and womanhood. It communicates in- 
struction of the highest order, because the love 
of Jesus and the love of souls enlists talent 
which no mercenary consideration could secure. 



The Outlook of the World, 



IS 



The influence which this instruction must have 
upon the coming generation should do much 
toward quieting our anxieties about the future 
of the race. 

IV. The result of every assault upon Chris- 
tianity, whether made in the name of science, 
philosophy or history, is a prophecy of what will 
occur hereafter. The fact that theories hostile 
to Christianity, and put forth with the utmost 
assurance of their authors, have been speedily 
abandoned, is a strong indication that the hu- 
man mind is not satisfied with the husks of 
philosophy, and that the best thought of the 
age is drifting toward the one who is the truth 
and the life. The enemies of religion have 
striven among themselves and fiercely demol- 
ished one another. According to an ancient 
fable, when Cadmus had sown the dragon's 
teeth and they sprang up an army of giants 
out of the ground, he took a rock and threw 
it among them. The result was that, instead of 
slaying him, they went to fighting one another, 
until only one tall giant remained, and he be- 
came the helper of Cadmus in carrying stones 
to build the walls of the city of Thebes. In 



i6 



Things New and Old, 



this way the enemies of Christ have killed the 
theories of one another and their contention 
has only resulted in strengthening the walls of 
the Master's Kingdom. The theory of the ra- 
tionalistic Paulus was soon displaced by that of 
the critical Strauss, who, in his latest writings, 
severely chastised his opponent, and with tell- 
ing irony and caustic sarcasm assailed the posi- 
tion held by the whole modern school of ra- 
tionalists. The theory of Strauss was in turn 
destroyed by that of the aesthetic Renan. The 
theory of Renan again has fallen to pieces of 
its own inconsistencies. 

Voltaire said in one hundred years the Bible 
will be forgotten. The one hundred years are 
past, but the Bible is not quite forgotten. The 
Geneva Bible Society is using his printing 
press in its work of publishing the Word of 
God, and at least two hundred million copies 
of the Bible have been printed in the last one 
hundred years. During the past year the 
American Bible Society alone has published 
thirteen thousand copies of the Bible every ten 
hours of the day. Gibbon labored earnestly to 
overthrow Christianity ; yet to-day Gibbon's ho- 
tel at Lake Leman contains a room where 



The Outlook of the World, 



17 



Bibles are sold. Chesterfield's parlors, formerly 
an infidel club room, echoing with profanity 
and raillery at the Christian religion, is now a 
vestry where the groans and prayers of the 
penitent go up to God. Tom Paine declared 
that he had gone through the forests of the 
Bible and hewn down the trees one by one 
with the ax of reason. If Paine were to rise 
from the shades of death, he would find those 
trees towering heavenward, more thrifty and 
fruitful than ever. 

V. The confirmation of the truth and accu- 
racy of the Scriptures furnished by modern 
archaeological discoveries gives added strength 
to the Christian religion. The records and 
relics dug up from the ruins of ancient tombs 
and cities corroborate many of the disputed 
declarations of Sacred Writ. Before any effec- 
tive explorations were made in the East, the 
external evidences of the genuineness of the 
Scripture were few indeed, and we had little 
to substantiate the Biblical histories, but when 
the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates be- 
gan to reveal the secrets which had so long 
been hidden under the dust of the ages, and 
2 



i8 



Things New and Old. 



the stones of Canaan and Syria began to speak 
out, we had what all Biblical students had 
been longing for. The historical intelligence 
gained by Oriental exploration confirms be- 
yond cavil the reliableness of the Scripture 
record, and knocks some of the wild and radi- 
ical theories of infidel critics into pieces so fine 
that they cannot be swept up with a broom. 
It is no longer safe for any student to make 
a statement destructive to the Biblical record, 
for the very next spade turned by the arch- 
aeologist may expose his ignorance, and sus- 
tain the correctness of the Scriptures. This 
unquestionable confirmation of Bible history is 
the source of much strength to the Christian 
religion, and gives valuable support to its 
claim on universal acceptance. 

VI. The popularity of the Gospel is also a 
very encouraging sign of the times. Never 
since the time when the first message of hope 
was uttered in Eden has the Gospel received 
so large and intelligent a hearing as it does 
to-day. It has been said by the pessimist 
that the average man of this age hates the 
preacher and his preaching. I call the state- 



The Outlook of the World. 



19 



ment in question. There may be a certain 
perverted form of the message that is repul- 
sive to many of the men of our day ; but 
the message as it is proclaimed in its bright 
and hopeful form by McLaren, and Storrs, 
and Talmage, and Moody, and thousands of 
others is not only not repulsive to the spirit 
of the age, but on the other hand is quite 
attractive. The immense audiences that flock 
to hear these men, and the remarkable enthu- 
siasm created by them is something unparal- 
leled in the history of the church. The fifty 
million dollars paid annually to the one hun- 
dred thousand ministers of this country are 
strongly expressive of the faith and interest 
of the people in the message they proclaim. 

VII. Another indication of the progress of 
Christianity is the liberality of its devotees. 
No equal number of persons can anywhere be 
found so firmly devoted to any hero or prin- 
ciple as the disciples of Christ are to him and 
his gospel. No charitable or scientific society 
receives the attention and support from its 
members that the church receives from Chris- 
tians. No distinctly humanitarian organization 



20 



Things New and Old. 



can command half the friends the church has 
at its disposal. Generous gifts are laid upon 
the altar of the sanctuary. The widow does not 
withhold her mite, nor the rich man his abund- 
ance. The rapid accumulation of wealth by in- 
dividuals may be one of the evils of the times 
from a sociological standpoint, but if that 
wealth is properly used, it converts the evil 
into a blessing. When I consider the princely 
munificence which many of fortuned favorites 
have been able to exercise toward the church 
and other benevolent institutions, I feel less 
inclined to criticise the financial inequalities so 
perplexing to the sociologist. One person now 
does with a single donation what formerly re- 
quired many persons and many years to do. 
Christian liberality erects the most costly struc- 
tures on earth to the service of God, and fur- 
nishes every conceivable means and appliance 
for facilitating the spread of the Gospel. 

VIII. The Bible is read by a larger propor- 
tion of the world's population now than in 
any previous age. In 1802, when the British 
and Foreign Bible Society was formed, there 
was a great distribution of the Bible in all 



The Outlook of the World. 



21 



countries. It had then been printed and circu- 
lated in only forty-seven languages and dia- 
lects ; but since that time more than 200,000,- 
000 Bibles, New Testaments and portions of 
the Bible have been issued. The Scriptures 
are now circulated among nearly all the nations 
of the earth, and in more than two hundred 
and fifty different languages. The heathen are 
eagerly reaching out for the heavenly message; 
and Christian people are reading it quite as 
reverently as ever, and with probably a more 
intelligent and correct interpretation than in 
former times. Significant upon this point is 
the fact that on the first day the revised ver- 
sion of the New Testament was placed on the 
market, one publishing house in New York 
sold a quarter of a million copies before three 
o'clock in the afternoon. This is certainly in- 
dicative of the intense interest taken in the 
grand old Bible. Popular as many books have 
been, no such record of one day's sale has 
ever been made before. Colonel Ingersoll and 
other infidels have bitterly assailed the New 
Testament with wit and ridicule, and have 
loudly asserted that it is losing its hold upon 
the people. But these unprecedented sales do 



22 



Things New and Old. 



not confirm that assertion. People are not 
simply reading, but studying the word of God 
in the light of the nineteenth century. It 
cannot be otherwise than that this thoughtful, 
yet devout, use of the Scriptures will have an 
elevating effect on the race. 

IX. There are millions of men and women 
of at least average intelligence, who firmly be- 
lieve that Christianity affords them the only 
adequate comfort in sorrow and the only hope 
for the future. To these the religion of the 
Nazarene is precious above all mundane treas- 
ures. They cherish it fondly as a sacred and 
invaluable heritage, and would be slow to re- 
linquish possession of it. Napoleon had his 
" Old Guard " ready to die, but not to sur- 
render, jesus has his followers who, rather 
than see his name perish from the earth, would 
dip their fingers in their own blood and write 
it upon the heavens. The unquenchable ardor 
and devotion of millions of Christians must 
prove an invincible defense of the cause of 
righteousness, and will perpetuate with ever in- 
creasing power the religion of Christ among 
men. 



The Outlook of the World, 



23 



Christianity is certainly more firmly estab- 
lished now than ever before ; its influence is 
wider and its promise of future advancement 
better. Along with this religious progress there 
has been a corresponding progress .in morals. 
That the world has improved in its ethical 
condition will scarcely admit of a doubt. Yet 
whatever progress has been made in this sphere 
must be credited mainly to the influence of 
Christianity. All moral reforms hitherto effected 
are of Christian parentage. Though godless 
men, in the pride of their unbelief, have en- 
deavored to trace the lineage of modern ethical 
progress to a different source, the judgment of 
impartial and thorough scholars connects it 
with religion. History and recent experience 
have demonstrated that reforms must take their 
place under the banner of the cross if they 
would march to victory. The two are cause 
and effect. A growing religion necessarily pro- 
duces an improved morality. 

It may be encouraging to notice a few of 
the triumphs achieved in this realm, some of 
them within the memory of the " oldest in- 
habitant." 



24 



Things New and Cca. 



I. An improvement has been made in the 
matter of temperance. While it is to be re- 
gretted that the methods of campaign against 
intoxicating liquors have been wild and spas- 
modic in many quarters, yet it canruot be de- 
nied that much good has been done. Prohib- 
itory laws have been enacted and are reasonably 
well enforced in several states. By reason of 
the constant agitation of this burning question 
drunkenness has come to be regarded a dis- 
grace. Many, no doubt, recollect the time when 
intoxication was considered somewhat excus- 
able on the plea of respectability. That time 
has passed by. Neal Dow, the venerable pro- 
hibitionist of Maine, expressed himself as fol- 
lows in a recent issue of the Independent : 
" My knowledge of the drinking habits of the 
people goes back beyond fifty years. I very 
well remember when this habit was almost uni- 
versal among all classes of society. It may be 
said to have been quite universal among me- 
chanics and other workingmen. I remember 
when the town bell, which rang at seven in the 
morning, at noon and at nine o'clock at night, 
was also rung at eleven in the forenoon and at 
four in the afternoon to call workingmen to 



The Outlook of the World. 



25 



their i grog ' which was considered a necessity 
among working people. 

"At the same time the drink custom was uni- 
versal among the upper classes of society. Al- 
ways, when calling at the houses of such 
people, whether socially, ceremoniously or on 
business, the first thing after the greeting was 
an invitation to the sideboard ' to take some- 
thing.' Whether the caller were the pastor, the 
doctor, the stranger or neighbor, the invitation 
and the drink w r ere never omitted. 

"In those days of liquors at public as well as 
social gatherings, alcoholics were always present, 
with boisterousness, coarseness and even vul- 
garities. Excess to the extreme was not con- 
sidered a reproach to any gentleman. I have 
seen such persons leap upon the table at such 
feasts and dance a 'jig' there, making all the 
bottles, decanters and glasses join in the fun. 
I have seen six gentlemen doing this at one 
time on a long table — a few ladies and many 
other gentlemen being present. All these hab- 
its and customs are gone now; they were dis- 
missed years ago from all circles of which I 
have any knowledge." 

The disgust of all moderate people with in- 



26 



Things New and Old. 



ebriety has never been more thorough. The 
hard drinker must now bear the brand of a 
social outcast. Bibulous dissipation is no longer 
condoned by the respectable as it used to be. 
The effects of temperance work are felt in the 
highest ranks of society as well as in the low T - 
est. The " gilt-edged " grog shop that once 
flourished in the basement of the capitol and 
furnished the inspiration for senatorial elo- 
quence has been abolished. A recent president 
of the United States was brave enough to vio- 
late foreign court etiquette, and the custom of 
his predecessors, by removing the wine cup 
from the White House table at state dinners. 
Many fashionable people have made the new 
departure of showing hospitality without offer- 
ing intoxicating drinks. The bench, the bar, 
and the senate are not so frequently degraded 
by drunken incumbents as they once w r ere. A 
smaller proportion of prominent political char- 
acters go to a drunkard's grave than formerly. 
The fact that physicians are compelled to des- 
ignate diseases resulting from intemperance by 
some obscure, scientific name shows the drift of 
public sentiment. 



The Outlook of the World. 



27 



II. Not many years ago the lottery was a 
popular institution. From the earliest settle- 
ment of the country it has been a familiar 
means of raising funds for various charitable 
purposes. Colleges have been founded, libraries 
established, and hospitals erected by the aid of 
this game of chance. Very near all the states 
of the Union have, at some period of their his- 
tory, employed lotteries as a means of revenue. 
But, though they supply a ready mode of re- 
plenishing the public treasury, they have al- 
ways been found to exert a mischievous influ- 
ence upon the people. The hope of sudden 
and splendid gains, the prospect of getting 
something for nothing, divert the attention of 
the masses from their usual labor and occupa- 
tion, and make them restless and adventurous. 
These schemes once enjoyed a fair reputation ; 
now they are condemned. Every state has 
abolished them and the Government has made 
it a penal offense to send lottery advertise- 
ments through the mails. 

III. Fifty years ago duelling was a common 
practice in this country. In those days the 
"code of honor" was in full force. Some of 



28 



Things New and Old. 



our greatest men had not the power to re- 
sist it. The noble Hamilton lost his life in 
combat with Aaron Burr, vice president of the 
United States. Barron fought with Decatur, 
Clay fought with John Randolph, Jackson 
fought with Dickinson. These " affairs 99 were 
of frequent occurrence in the earlier years of 
this century. Now they are rare. Southern 
chivalry, in foolish imitation of foreign man- 
ners, furnishes the few we now hear of. The 
verdict of popular opinion is that he who 
refuses to fight a duel is a moral hero, and 
that he who kills another in a duel is a 
murderer. 

IV. The present century has witnessed the 
noblest manifestations of Christian sympathy 
and aid. On the fatal night of October 8, 
1 87 1, Chicago was visited with one of the 
most destructive conflagrations of modern 
times. The greater part of the city was de- 
stroyed. Two hundred million dollars' worth 
of property was licked up by the hungry 
flames. One hundred and sixty thousand peo- 
ple were homeless, shelterless, and without 
provisions. This dread calamity sent a thrill 



The Outlook of the World. 29 

of sympathy through all of this country, and 
through all of Europe. From all parts of the 
world messages of aid and encouragement 
came in. Whole trains of clothing and food 
were sent from our larger cities to shield the 
unfortunate against cold and starvation. In a 
few days seven million dollars in money, and 
almost unlimited provisions and articles of 
clothing were contributed to the relief of the 
sufferers. What a beautiful testimony to the 
brotherly love that now pervades the human 
family ! 

The fearful plague that in 1873 and again 
in 1878 scourged the South with its poison- 
ous lash called out noble exhibitions of phi- 
lanthropy and self-sacrifice. Every church in 
the land lifted liberal collections for the bene- 
fit of the afflicted, and sent a fervent prayer 
to God that he might call off the dread epi- 
demic. Many physicians and nurses from the 
North hastened to the beds of the dying as 
ministers of mercy. Bright men and fair 
women laid down their lives for those who 
had no other claim upon them than that of a 
common humanity. 

This manifestation of philanthropy was re- 



30 



Things New and Old. 



peated after that dreadful calamity in the 
Conemaugh valley five years ago. As a re- 
sult of heavy rains, a dam across the south 
fork of the Conemaugh river was carried away, 
and the valley engulfed with a raging flood. 
Johnstown and the surrounding villages were 
swept away, and more than six thousand per- 
sons lost their lives. The catastrophe was 
probably without parallel in its awful results 
since the days of the Noachian deluge. But 
aside from the mortality and its consequent 
sorrows, everything else has been restored 
again. The whole civilized world felt the 
shock of the disaster, and opened its purse to 
relieve the distress entailed by it. The dis- 
heartened citizens of the ill-fated town were 
so encouraged by the generous offers of sub- 
stantial aid that they at once began to rebuild, 
and to-day nearly every trace of the flood has 
disappeared, and a new city stands on the site 
of the old. With such repeated evidences of 
love to mankind who will say the race is 
deteriorating? 

V. There was a time, and that not far distant, 
when African slavery was encouraged by the 



The Outlook of the World. 



3i 



kings and parliaments of England. In 1708, 
the House of Commons declared by the report 
of a committee, that " the trade in negroes was 
important and ought to be free and open to 
all the Queen's subjects." Still later, under 
George II., the British Government sought in 
every way to foster the iniquity and " diligently 
checked any beginnings of virtuous action in 
the colonies directed against the evil." In 
due season the crime became thoroughly es- 
tablished also in the American colonies, and for 
decades had able defenders, both in church and 
state. To-day slavery has scarcely an apologist 
in England or America and is not tolerated in 
any civilized country in the w r orld. 

VI. The position and rights of woman in the 
not remote past were those of an inferior crea- 
ture. Under the common law of England her 
husband, no matter how degraded he might be, 
could take her property and all her earnings and 
use them for his own base and selfish gratifica- 
tion. As the statute says, " He could beat his 
wife, though not to death, and chastise her rea- 
sonably. " It was a common thing in the eight- 
eenth century for a man to sell and deliver his 



32 



Things New and Old, 



wife to another man. Parleigh's register, a his- 
torical document, speaks of a " bought wife de- 
livered in a halter" as late as 1782. To-day, 
thanks to the elevating influence of Christianity, 
woman stands by the side of her husband, his 
equal and his companion, instead of his chattel. 

Thus, on all moral questions and all questions 
coming under the head of the humanities of life, 
we are far in advance of bygone centuries. It 
does not require a parallax of more than a hun- 
dred years to demonstrate this to the complete 
satisfaction of any one who is not abnormally 
splenetic. 

But some one may ask, " If the world is 
growing better, why do we now read in the 
papers of so much more wickedness than for- 
merly?" The answer to that is easy enough. 
It is because of the remarkable increase in our 
population, which has more than doubled in 
the last thirty years. No special endowment 
of wisdom is necessary to perceive that, all 
things being equal, the larger the number of 
people, the larger the number of crimes to be 
expected. Another reason for this apparent 
increase in crime is the elevation of our moral 
standard, by which many offenses, formerly 



The Outlook of the World. 



33 



winked at, are now classed as criminal. With 
our growing civilization comes increased sever- 
ity, and in consequence, an increased number 
of arrests. But increased arrests and imprison- 
ments do not necessarily mean an actual in- 
crease in vice. They may and do mean that 
the test of the closing nineteenth century is 
higher than that of former times. But, more 
than all, this apparent increase in crime may 
be attributed to the fact that every trifling 
offense, though committed in the remotest cor- 
ner of the land, is now published in the daily 
journals, and nearly always with some exagger- 
ation. This was not so in the days of our 
fathers. Only the particularly heinous crimes 
were ever heard of by them. But with the 
complete news service of our time, everything 
is brought to the public notice. A murder 
committed in San Francisco at midnight ap- 
pears in every morning paper in the United 
States six hours after its committal. The story 
of the deed, with all its bloody details, is car- 
ried from city to city with the speed of the 
lightning. The next morning we read of an- 
other crime perpetrated in the pine forests of 

Michigan, and another in the Five Points of 
3 



34 



Things New and Old. 



New York. We forget that this is the record 
of 65,000,000 of people scattered over 3,500,000 
of square miles, and with news and telegraphic 
facilities our forefathers never dreamed of. 

This is what might be called, in common 
parlance, a fast age. Everything goes with a 
rush. Life is now compressed within a narrow 
span. This generation is shorter than any pre- 
vious one ; yet it has accomplished more. There 
has been more thought and said and done in a 
recent decade than in a former quarter of a 
century. The great hurry and bustle of our 
times should not be the cause of lamentation, 
but rather of satisfaction. 

"Fifty years of Europe is better 
Than a cycle of Cathay." 

The crowning inventions of this age are a 
helpful means to its moral and religious forces. 
Steam, electricity, railroads, and all kindred im- 
provements must exert, on the whole, a benef- 
icent influence on the world at large. Though 
the devil is trying to control all great inventions, 
as a rule the good prevails ; and they result in 
larger, freer intercourse among people, in allay- 
ing national prejudices, in encouraging alle- 
giance to international law, and in the general 



The Outlook of the World. 



35 



spread of the better elements of modern civil- 
ization. Steam, as applied to ships and cars, 
enables the embassadors of God the more 
speedily to deliver their message to distant na- 
tions. The journey which, when pursued by 
stage and sail, required months, is now accom- 
plished in weeks. The missionary escapes the 
inconveniences of former modes of travel, 
and rides in a moving palace to his field of 
labor. m 

Electricity, that subtle and mysterious agency, 
is also engaged in the service of God. On its 
wings of lightning it carries the glad tidings to 
" earth's remotest bounds." By means of it 
the most distant outposts are connected with 
the great centers and strongholds of religion. 
A little while ago a missionary could be eaten 
by cannibals, and the people of this land would 
not discover it for months afterward. Now 
such a misfortune would be known to the 
whole civilized world on the evening of the 
same day on which it occurred. Judson, that 
earnest laborer for God in heathen lands, was 
dead three months before civilized nations 
knew of it. With our present net work of com- 
munications, such important intelligence would 



36 



Things New and Old. 



reach the eye of every reading Christian in a 
very short time. 

The discoveries, arts, and appliances of this 
century have been made to subserve the wise 
purpose of God in furthering the cause of the 
Gospel. The marvelous progress made in me- 
chanical philosophy and every department of 
science, is a lever with which God is raising 
the world, and bringing it nearer to him. 

I am of the firm opinion that the world is 
slowly growing better. There may be times of 
darkness and fanaticism and retrogression when 
men despair ; but they are always followed by 
increased progress. There are actions and reac- 
tions, but the general course of civilization 
can be well discerned. What Macaulay said 
of England is true of the race in general: 
" We have often thought the motion of the 
public mind resembles that of the sea when 
the tide is rising — each successive wave rushes 
forward, breaks, and rolls back ; but the great 
flood is steadily coming in. A person who 
looked on the waters only for a moment 
might fancy they were retiring. A person who 
looked on them only for five minutes might 
fancy that they were rushing capriciously to 



The Outlook of the World. 



37 



and fro. Bnt when he keeps his eye on them 
for a quarter of an hour, and sees one sea- 
mark disappear after another, it is impossible 
for him to doubt of the general direction in 
which the ocean is moved." Looking only at 
one decade, or one quarter of a century, we 
might conclude that the race was going back- 
ward, but looking at its whole course, we re- 
ceive a different impression. 

"And, I doubt not, through the ages 
One increasing purpose runs, 
And the thoughts of men are widened 
With the process of the suns." 



"And the third day there was a marriage in Cana oi 
Galilee ; and the mother of Jesus was there : 

"And both Jesus was called and his disciples, to the 
marriage." — John II: 1,2. 



II. 



CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE. 

We have undertaken to speak on this sub- 
ject this evening, not because we feel par- 
ticularly qualified to do so, but because we 
feel it a duty to do so. In all the range of 
practical topics there is none more important 
than this. The choice of a companion for life 
is a matter of such serious moment that it 
deserves to be treated in the Christian pulpit 
from time to time. Next to the question, 
"What shall I do to be saved?" is the ques- 
tion, " Whom shall I marry?" There is so much 
of happiness and so much of misery, so much 
of sin and so much of virtue depending upon 
the answer to this question that it ought to 
receive more attention than it does. It is a 
question for time and for eternity, a question 
that may either make or unmake us, and yet 
it is so often treated with levity and uncon- 

(39) 



40 



Things New and Old, 



cern. We approach it this evening with the 
utmost seriousness and with a full realization 
of its grave importance. Whatever we may 
say shall not be from a desire to be startling 
and sensational, but purely from a sense of 
duty. And should any word be dropped that 
grates harshly on the ear of one or another, 
we wish to assure you that it was spoken in 
love and not in malice. 

We believe in matrimony. It is certainly a 
relation which God intended men to occupy, 
and is productive of the most genuine happi- 
ness if properly entered upon. Yet the voice 
of the times seems to be somewhat against 
it. There is a mawkish sneering at it by peo- 
ple who lay claim to superior intelligence. 
But however wise men may become, they will 
never get beyond the wisdom of God, who 
said, " It is not good that man should be 
alone." There may be particular marriages 
which are failures, but marriage itself is not. 
It is a divine institution, and, unless there is 
some serious barrier in the way, all people 
should enter its pleasant bondage. 

To su£h who contemplate matrimony we 
commend the example of that young couple 



Christian Marriage. 



4i 



referred to here in the text. They were plain 
people, evidently in moderate circumstances, for 
they did not have even sufficient refreshments 
to meet the demands of the wedding. But 
they had invited Christ, the great prophet of 
Nazareth, and he supplied what was lacking in 
provisions, and by his presence sanctified all 
the joy and mirth of that occasion. We do 
not know what became of that young couple 
afterwards, for none of the evangelists see fit 
to make any reference to them, yet we are 
sure that they w r ere the better for having had 
the Divine Jesus at their nuptials. In this re- 
spect they established a custom which all who 
intend to enter the marriage relation would do 
well to follow. When you come to make the 
arrangements for your wedding, do not forget 
to invite this same Jesus of Nazareth. Who- 
ever else you may omit from the list of your 
invitations, do not omit him. Be sure to make 
him chief at the feast and have nothing about 
the whole affair that might be in the least of- 
fensive to him. Yea, we go still further, and 
suggest that you ask him to assist you even 
in selecting a companion. Make your betrothal 
a matter of serious and prayerful consideration. 



42 



Things New and Old. 



Remember that true marriages are formed in 
Heaven and that it is therefore wise to seek 
Heaven's guidance. We know there are people 
who smile at this kind of advice, but they may 
yet live to regret it. There is an old Russian 
proverb which says, " Before you go to war 
pray once ; before you go to sea, pray twice ; 
but before you go to be married, pray three 
times." It is certainly a critical period in every 
one's career and he may well invoke divine il- 
lumination as he passes through it. Thought- 
lessness on this subject has brought disaster to 
many who otherwise would have been success- 
ful and happy. 

Let no one think, either, that the trouble is 
all one-sided — that it is only the men who are 
cursed by matrimonial blunders. There are just 
as many women who have had their lives dark 
ened by being allied with ignoble men. But 
between the two now, between the men who 
have married scolds and vixens and the women 
who have married hard-hearted tyrants and vil- 
lains, there has been a vast amount of misery 
produced. There are some people who doubt 
the existence of a hell hereafter. We do not 
agree with them. But whatever may be our 



Christian Marriage. 



43 



views about a hell to come, we cannot doubt 
that there are a thousand hells on earth, hells 
produced by hasty and inconsiderate marriages, 
the most of which will never be quenched ex- 
cept in death. We find no pleasure in speak- 
ing of this connubial misery, but do so only to 
show that it exists, that there is a possibility 
of making a grave mistake and that, therefore, 
prayer and thoughtfulness are quite in order 
before taking the critical step. 

Having given this general advice, we shall 
proceed to specify a few of the points in- 
cluded in a Christian, conscientious marriage. 
We do not suppose that any of our young 
hearers expect to get married, nevertheless, they 
may have a slight interest in some pastoral 
counsel on this subject. 

I. We are sure that Christ would never ad- 
vise such to marry who have no visible means 
of support. This does not signify that he 
would place an embargo on the marriage of 
people in moderate circumstances. His pres- 
ence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee is suf- 
ficient proof that he does not discriminate 
against the honestly poor in this matter. It is 
true, however, that he does oppose a careless 



44 



Things New and Old. 



rushing into matrimony without considering 
the question, How can we gain a livelihood, 
or how can we support our children,, in case 
God should bless us with such? It is not 
Christian marriage for a man to take the vows 
without the ability to provide for a family. 
No conscientious person with genuine affection 
in his heart, will ask a woman to join him in 
this sacred and lasting union, without feeling 
that he is able to give her all proper care and 
attention. Not that proper matrimony implies 
the possession of so and so much capital. If 
that were the case, then thousands of people, 
whose only income is an annual salary, would 
be barred out. . Capital itself might not be 
sufficient if there are not those other requi- 
sites, health and the ability to do something. 
He that is sound of limb and mind, and is 
capable of pursuing some legitimate occupation, 
will, by the help of God, be able to provide 
for a family, even without stocks and bonds. 
If, in spite of an honest effort, he afterwards 
comes to want, it cannot be said to be his 
fault, and surely God will not forsake him. 

It is lamentably true, however, that in many 
cases even these modest prerequisites are lack- 



Christian Marriage. 



45 



ing. There are multitudes who are not healthy, 
but who contrive in some way to conceal their 
ailments from each other. This is a grave in- 
justice. It is getting something under false 
pretenses. Health is very important to connu- 
bial happiness, and almost indispensable to 
temporal subsistence. Let the pronounced in- 
valid, therefore, consider well whether he had 
not better remain unmarried, than to plunge 
both himself and his consort into almost cer- 
tain wretchedness. These may seem like aus- 
tere words, but they are spoken in love. . We 
have seen so much unhappiness resulting from 
this cause that we cannot remain silent. It 
would be an unkindness to speak to young 
people about marriage without cautioning them 
to be frank with one another, and to openly 
confess any physical ailment which might se- 
riously detract from their fitness for the mari- 
tal state. 

Almost equally as necessary as health is the 
ability to provide and to preside over the af- 
fairs of the household. What a pitiable weak- 
ness is displayed in this particular by the 
present generation. Just think of many of our 
young ladies and how they are being educated. 



46 



Things New and Old. 



Almost everything is taught them except how- 
to keep house or the duties of motherhood. 
We have not a word against the higher educa- 
tion of woman as long as it is combined with 
the necessary practical education in household 
affairs. We believe that woman is entitled to 
a larger library than the Bible and a cookery 
book. We believe she has a right to a wider 
science than " chemistry enough to keep the 
pot boiling, and geography enough to know the 
different rooms in her house/' But this more 
liberal education ought not to be gained at the 
expense of domestic efficiency. Literary and 
scientific attainments ought not to bar out 
" the philosophy of the kitchen." It will 
hardly be questioned that the most learned 
woman cannot be an ideal wife unless she 
knows some of the details of managing a home. 
Of what avail are literature and music and paint- 
ing unless supplemented by cooking and sew- 
ing and other useful accomplishments? They 
are poetical, but how about the prosaic ? And 
there is enough of this in every household. 
A sensible man will want to know what his 
wife can do toward making him comfortable 
and to keep the house at a reasonable outlay. 



Christian Marriage. 



47 



He is interested in her skill at baking and scrub- 
bing and in the use of the needle. We are 
told of a young man in Philadelphia, who, court- 
ing one of three sisters, happened to be on a 
visit to her, when all the three were present. 
While there his enamorata chanced to say to 
her sisters, " I wonder where our needle is." 
This incidental remark was full of meaning to 
him. As soon as consistent with politeness he 
withdrew from the house, resolved never to 
think of marrying a girl who possessed a needle 
only in partnership, and who, it appeared, was 
not very well informed as to the place where 
even that share was deposited. Young men 
very justly demand a pratical education on the 
part of those who presume to become their 
wives and the mothers of their children. For 
of what benefit is music and painting when 
the food is poorly cooked, and the clothing 
torn and the pocketbook empty? With this 
concomitant condition music will soon be 
changed into discord and the peace of the 
household greatly jeopardized. If you ever hope 
to enter the married state, young ladies, you owe 
it to your future husbands to make some specific 
preparation for the discharge of its duties. 



4 8 



Things New and Old, 



Just as many a young woman is deficient in 
this regard so also is many a young man. The 
number of bunglers is by no means limited, 
and a bungler is always a more or less doubt- 
ful provider for a household. We have often 
seen families in distress because the husband 
and father had not properly learned his trade 
or mastered the details of his business. A man 
who thinks of asking some angelic little crea- 
ture to become his partner for life, ought first to 
acquire the ability to follow his chosen calling, 
and thus to provide the daily bread needed to 
sustain her. To be a bungler in anything is 
not Christian. Much less is it Christian to 
prevail upon some luckless damsel to join in 
suffering the consequences of the bungler's 
laziness and incapacity. Diligence and capable- 
ness will always have a beneficent effect on 
domestic life and should, therefore, be the traits 
of all young men who are about to assume do- 
mestic responsibility. 

II. A true Christian marriage must be a 
union of two who are like-minded on the sub- 
ject of religion. This does not necessarily 
mean that both must be members of the 



Christian Marriage. 



49 



church, but it does mean that neither should 
be an infidel. " Be ye not unequally yoked to- 
gether with unbelievers" is matrimonial advice 
which ought not remain unheeded. While we 
do not believe that church membership should 
be made a test of proper candidacy for mat- 
rimony, we do believe that sympathy with 
churches should. No person who sneers at 
religion and ridicules Christianity is fit to be- 
come the life campanion of a Christian. It 
is hard to conceive how there can be the 
proper affection when either spits wormwood 
upon the faith of the other. There is nothing 
more sacred to a genuine Christian than his 
religious convictions, and it is certainly hazard- 
ing the prospect of connubial bliss to enter 
into a marriage relation in which those convic- 
tions will be constantly sneered at. The house- 
hold peace is liable to be chronically dis- 
turbed by a radical difference on this subject. 
Yet on this very point there is a vast deal 
of thoughtlessness manifested both by young 
people and their parents. When a marital 
union is contemplated the question usually 
asked is not, " How will this marriage benefit 

me spiritually ? What affect will it have on 

4 



Tilings New and Old. 



my religion ? Will I be made the better by 
it?" But the all absorbing-question is, "How 
will this marriage affect me socially? What 
worldly advantage will I secure thereby?" Piety 
and godliness are almost totally ignored and, 
on the other hand, temporal interests are un- 
duly exalted. Many parents train up their 
children with the manifest purpose in view of 
securing them social position and temporal ad- 
vantage. They do not stop to consider the 
deeper questions that lie at the foundation of 
human happiness. If only there is money in 
sight, ignorance and infidelity are winked at. 
Yea, even moral obliquities are tolerated when 
the parental eye is dazzled with glittering 
gold. How many a son has thus been plunged 
into almost hellish misery ! And how many a 
daughter, mismated in this way, has had to come 
back again broken-hearted to the parental roof ! 
There is only too much truth in the little 
couplet, 

" In many a marriage made for gold, 
The bride is bought — and the bridegroom sold." 

And, alas, in too many such cases it turns 
out that both are sold in the baser sense of 
that word. Better leave the commercial and 



Christian Marriage. 



5i 



social question out of view in the selection of 
a consort and look rather to the character. 
Good moral and spiritual qualities will prove 
far more profitable than the mere possession of 
wealth. Besides, if your heart is wedded to 
Christ you cannot consistently enter into wed- 
lock with another who is an enemy of Christ's. 
This w T ould be religious perfidy of which you 
cannot afford to be guilty. First and foremost, 
you owe loyalty to God, and it can never be 
to your interest to form a co-partnership which 
may detract from that loyalty. 

III. Christian marriage should always be pre- 
ceded with due deliberation and prayer. The 
choice of a companion is a critical thing at 
best, and there is no excuse for increasing the 
chances of failure by going into it impulsively 
or blindly. To marry without having had a 
previous acquaintance is running a great risk. 
Marriage is said to be a lottery, but this makes 
it more so than ever. It is almost foolhardy 
to resort to artificial means in securing a wife. 
There is, we believe, an institution called the 
matrimonial bureau. Its object is to bring peo- 
ple together with a view to matrimony, to pro- 



52 



Things New and Old. 



vide wives for men and husbands for women, 
and to do it on short notice and for a reason- 
able compensation. That is an institution we 
would advise you not to patronize. You had 
better attend a few more Sunday School pic- 
nics or church " socials," than to pay a fee of 
ten or twenty dollars to be introduced to a 
stranger a hundred or a thousand miles away. 
Or, if by some strange spell you should be in- 
duced to apply to this institution, be sure that 
you become thoroughly acquainted with the 
person to whom you are referred. Do not 
trust to the judgment of others or to hearsay 
in so important a matter. You would not 
think of buying a farm without visiting it and 
making careful investigation as to its value. 
You would not think of accepting a deed to 
any property without first inquiring as to liens 
and incumbrances on it. You would not think 
of selling a bill of goods to any man without 
a thorough knowledge of his trustworthiness. 
You would not even rent a house without first 
looking at it. Much less should you think of 
entering into an eternal union with some one 
whom you do not know. There may occa- 
sionally a happy marriage result from such 



Christian Marriage. 



53 



procedure, but the chances are too few for any 
one to make the venture. 

In some of our daily newspapers there is a 
column containing advertisements of a tender 
nature. Young men, and young women, also, 
ask for correspondents with a view to matri- 
mony. Just how extensively these advertise- 
ments are answered is not in our power to 
know. Yet we fear that some of our young 
people yield to these seductive overtures, and 
enter into a correspondence of the most dan- 
gerous character. We know that the excuse 
given for this letter writing is that it is simply 
for amusement. Let me say to you, however, 
as a pastor and friend, that it is the most peril- 
ous kind of amusement in which you can in- 
dulge. It is practically an anonymous corre- 
spondence, and the w r riter at one end of the 
line does not know who is at the other. He 
may be the most vile and villainous person out 
side of the bottomless pit, and nine cases out 
of ten his motives are base. If you are doing 
any of that kind of letter writing, whether se- 
riously or for amusement, you had better drop 
it at once. There may be here and there some 
one who is really respectable and honest in 



54 



Tilings New and Old. 



his intentions, but the great majority of those 
soliciting this kind of correspondence are of no 
account. 

Over in the city of Akron there is one of 
the largest match factories in the world. And 
the matches made there are not all parlor 
matches either, as we know from personal ob- 
servation. A short time ago a young lady who 
was employed there, and who was of good name 
and respectable family, concluded that she 
would like to have a husband. She was in 
the packing department, and struck upon this 
ingenious device for attracting some one's at- 
tention. She wrote a note and put it into a 
box which she was packing. The substance of 
the note was a request for marriage with any 
single gentleman who might chance to get 
that box. After a few weeks a letter came 
from some one in the town of Steubenville an- 
nouncing that he had received the box, and 
was ready to accept the inclosed proposal. A 
few letters were exchanged, and suddenly one 
day the young lady disappeared. She had 
gone to marry this young man — gone without 
the knowledge of her mother or any member 
of her family — gone to enter into a matrimo- 



Christian Marriage. 



55 



nial alliance with a total stranger, a man whom 
she had never seen, and of whom she did not 
know whether his nose was on the front or 
on the back of his head. What the conse- 
quence of this strange marriage was we are not 
able to say. But, whether it resulted favor- 
ably or not, it was a very foolish and peril- 
ous thing for a young lady to do. Matrimony 
is a serious thing to go into with one's eyes 
open, but much more so with them closed. 
There may be here and there a happy union 
effected in this way, but the majority of such 
u matches " are failures. 

A man stopped at a house in Douglassville, 
Ga., the other day, and asked a lady for a 
glass of water. When he had quenched his 
thirst he asked her if she was married or sin- 
gle. She replied: "Widow." On which the 
man said he was a widower in search of a 
wife. "Walk in," answered the widow, "and 
we'll talk the matter over." One hour later 
the twain were made one by the nearest minis- 
ter. This was very speedy work indeed, so 
speedy that it almost takes one's breath 
to read of it. But it was just as foolhardy as 
it was speedy, considering that neither knew 



56 



Tilings New and Old. 



the antecedents, the character, or the disposi- 
tion of the other. We should be greatly sur- 
prised if such a lightning-like conjunction 
would result in genuine happiness. At any 
rate, it is a hazard which it is needless for any 
one to assume. The safest course is to avoid 
all such irregular and sensational methods and 
to pursue the old and traditional way, though 
it may require a little more time to do it. 

IV. Further, that can hardly be termed 
Christian marriage which is based on sensual 
beauty only. If you are a man and think of 
selecting a wife, look deeper than the surface. 
Do not marry mere physical grace and comeli- 
ness. A pretty face may be a " delusion and a 
snare" in a very literal sense. It may serve as 
a mask to cover up questionable qualities of 
mind and heart. It is desirable enough when 
it reflects a pleasing disposition and a pure 
heart, when it expresses noble traits and has a 
real womanly soul back of it. But if it is only 
a disguise, it is a very uncertain thing to fall 
in love with, and that love is liable to be 
of a very transient character. An affection 
based on nothing but a pretty face or a pleas- 



Christian Marriage. 



57 



ing form cannot be lasting, because the face 
will not always be pretty and the form will 
not always be graceful. Time will whiten the 
hair, and wrinkle the brow, and hollow the 
cheeks. It will rack the handsome form and 
make it angular and tottering. If, then, there 
was nothing to love but the fine physique and 
the pleasing countenance, that love is doomed 
to vanish. 

If, however, the love is based on something 
deeper than the skin, on a fair character, an 
angelic soul and excellent qualities of heart, 
then all the outward changes in the world will 
not affect it ; then the form may become fee- 
ble and bent, and the face as homely as a Cali- 
ban's, yet the love will still continue. Then 
riches may take wings and sickness come, and 
trouble invade the home, yet peace and affec- 
tion will still prevail. Then the tongue of poi- 
son may wag and friends grow cold, yet hus- 
band and wife will be as firmly devoted to 
each other as when they stood at the bridal al- 
tar, and vowed to " love and cherish" forever. 

There are yet other requisites to a Christian 
marriage, but we need not particularize so mi- 
nutely. They are all comprehended in the 



58 



Tilings New and Old, 



general injunction to submit the cause to the 
Lord in prayer. A devout and thoughtful 
consideration of the proposed union will sug- 
gest wherein it may be defective, and also 
point out the correction, if such be possible. 
Should any serious hindrance appear, we would 
counsel postponement until it has been re- 
moved. Much painful martyrdom has been 
produced by ignoring this reasonable advice. 
Instead of a paradise, matrimony has become 
a Gehenna to multitudes who have rushed into 
it regardless of disqualifying circumstances and 
manifest obstacles in their way. Under proper 
conditions, however, the marital state is a state 
of happiness that ought prove attractive to 
the uninitiated. The divine sanction rests 
upon it in spite of the oft-quoted, but misin- 
terpreted, language of the apostle Paul. He ad- 
vised against it, it is true, but his advice was 
based on local conditions .which have since then 
disappeared. His times were times of persecu- 
tion, and on that account he thought it best 
for Christians to remain unincumbered by 
household cares, in order to devote them- 
selves the more to the work of the Lord. It 
could not have been his intention to discour- 



Christ Han Marriage. 



59 



age wedlock forever, for that would have been 
contrary to the divine mind, as elsewhere ex- 
pressed. There was need then of the undivided 
time and unfettered energy of all Christians; 
hence his famous utterance leaving matrimony 
to the option of the individual. On another 
occasion he said that " marriage is honorable to 
all," and thus showed that he did not mean 
what many cynical people have read into his 
lines. The normal state of man is doubtless 
the married state, and when entered into un- 
der God's direction it will be productive of 
the purest happiness. 

'•What is there in the vale of life 

Half so delightful as a wife, 
When friendship, love and peace combine 

To stamp the marriage-bond divine ? 
The stream of pure and genuine love 

Derives its current from above ; 
And earth a second Eden shows, 

Where'er the healing water flows." 



"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." 

— Psalm LI 1 1 : i. 



III. 



THE FOLLY OF ATHEISM. 

The number of outright atheists in the 
world is smaller than is commonly supposed. 
There are skeptics, rationalists and agnostics 
in abundance, but not many atheists. There 
are multitudes who doubt the miracles, ques- 
tion the divinity of Christ and discredit the 
Bible, but the number of those who deny the 
existence of God is limited. It seems these 
liberal people will do almost anything but 
that, possibly from fear of putting themselves 
into the category to which the psalmist as- 
signs them here in the text. The conspicuous 
atheists of the day can be counted on the 
fingers of one hand. On the other side of the 
Atlantic they have Bradlaugh, the brazen-faced 
and swaggering blasphemer, who once stood 
up in the British Parliament, took out his 

watch and said, " FH give the Almighty, if 

(61) 



62 



Things New and Old. 



there be an Almighty, three minutes in which 
to strike me dead," and then impudently 
waited the three minutes, thinking that by 
his little bravado he was demonstrating to the 
world that there is no God. We on this side 
of the Atlantic have Robert Ingersoll, who 
undoubtedly is the champion blasphemer of 
America — " by merit raised to that bad em- 
inence." There has probably not been during 
the nineteenth century so reckless and mali- 
cious an enemy of the Christian faith. There 
is scarcely a " cunningly devised fable " of the 
last two thousand years which he has not 
dragged forth from its obscurity, and, after 
clothing it in his characteristic phraseology, 
served up to the American public as the scin- 
tillation of his own brilliant intellect. Yet 
even this mercenary blasphemer, this chief of 
infidels, will not positively deny the existence 
of God. The utmost that even he dares to 
say is, " I do not know that there is a 
God. I have never seen him. I incline to the 
opinion that there is not, yet I would not 
speak as an oracle on that point." He, doubt- 
less, recognizes the absurdity of the atheist's 
position and is aware of the unfathomable dif- 



The Folly of Atheism. 



63 



Acuities into which a man plunges himself 
when he denies the existence of God, and so he 
contents himself with a vague agnosticism and 
undignified lampooning of the Christian religion. 

We must either believe in a divine creator 
or admit that the universe is a mystery we can- 
not explain. To be an atheist involves one in 
contradictions and impossibilities without num- 
ber, and is so plainly unreasonable that no 
amount of sophistry and laughter can cover it 
up. The wisdom of the average infidel of the 
age is excellently summarized by Paul Bert, 
the brilliant Frenchman and minister of Public 
Instruction under Gambetta. In a little book 
prepared by him for use in the common schools 
of France there is, among other rich things, a 
chapter on " What we do not know." We quote 
literally from the English translation of the 
book. 

Question: What is God ? 
Answer: I do not know. 
Ques.: Who made the world ? 
Ans.: I do not know. 

Ques.: When and how did man appear on the 
earth ? 

Ans.: I do not know. 



64 



Things New and Old. 



Ques.: What transpires after death? 
Ans.: I do not know. 

Ques.: Are you not ashamed of your igno- 
rance ? 

Ans.; I need not be ashamed not to know what 
nobody can know. 

Nine-tenths of the infidels of to-day will ad- 
mit that all their philosophy is summed up in 
that brief catechism, that " I don't know " is 
their wisest answer to the weightiest questions 
that ever well up from the human heart. Only 
a limited few will venture beyond this " science 
of ignorance " and positively deny a divine 
creator. The skeptical masses hesitate to cross 
the Rubicon of atheism, because they know 
that without belief in God the universe and 
its origin are an unsolved problem. 

I. We here lay down the proposition, and 
shall endeavor to prove it, that the existence 
of the world implies the existence of a living 
God. 

On a previous occasion we tried to show 
you that science does not testify against, but 
rather in favor of, this proposition. Only such 
naturalists as are prejudiced from the outstart 



The Folly of Atheism. 



65 



think they have found in science an arsenal of 
destructive weapons against the Christian's 
faith. Many others who are equally as emi- 
nent, but free from prejudice, have found 
everywhere footprints of a creator, and believe 
those naturalists who cannot see such traces 
to be blind and inexcusable. Some one has 
said that an undevout astronomer must be 
mad. The same remark would apply with equal 
fairness to the physiologist, the botanist, or 
any other scientific specialist. There is certainly 
some defect in the make-up of those students 
who " search creation's wonders o'er," and do 
not become devout. Their religious faculty must 
be greatly impaired, if they cannot see* the 
name of God written in the heavens, and on 
every leaf and flower of the wide earth. It 
was a most becoming and also a very natural 
thing for a man like Agassiz, though not a 
professing Christian, to begin his scientific in- 
vestigations by standing for a moment with un- 
covered head in silent adoration of the great 
Creator. The voice of nature declared to him, 
as it does to everyone who has ears to hear, 
" There is a God." 

And just as little as the world can be ac- 
5 



66 



Things New and Old. 



counted for without divine intervention, so little 
can life, whether it be vegetable or animal. 
This is a truth to which we ask your thought- 
ful consideration for a moment. We will, for the 
time being, leave out of view the marvelous 
wisdom displayed in the external forms of the 
plant and animal, and consider nothing more 
than merely their life. That of itself demands 
a creator. Charles Darwin has tried to account 
for the existence of life independent of any 
divine power. He has endeavored to show that 
the universe has developed itself by its own 
inherent forces and tendencies out of a chaos 
of primordial atoms, that the world has reached 
its present state of perfection* unguided by in- 
telligence and uninfluenced by anything out- 
side of itself. The result of his efforts is the 
famous Darwinian Theory so much discussed 
in the last twenty years. We shall not undertake 
at this time to prove to you that this theory 
is not as yet substantiated by facts. Indeed, 
we would not at any time presume to be able 
to argue this question with a scientific special- 
ist, for he could easily play teetotum with the 
average clergyman in a scientific discussion. 
We are not a specialist, and have never de- 



The Folly of Atheism. 



6 7 



voted much time to the study of natural sci- 
ence, and consequently shall not imitate the 
sciolist 

" Who tries with ease and unconcern 
To teach what ne'er himself could learn." 

We have, however, examined some eminent 
authorities on the subject in question and are 
content to accept their opinion. We find that 
Cuvier, Agassiz, Quatrefages, Hugh Miller and 
Virchow are opposed to it. We shall point you 
to page and paragraph in their works where 
they reject the theory in explicit language. 

Professor Virchow of Berlin, the greatest liv- 
ing naturalist, said, at the Anthropological Con- 
gress held in Munich a few years ago and com- 
posed of some of the best scholars of the age : 
" The descent of man from the animal is a 
theory supported by no sort of proof whatever. 
Neither has there been found the missing link 
between man and the ape, or between man and 
the animals. Never will we be able to deter- 
mine whence man came, and however ingenious 
certain speculations may be, they are only spec- 
ulations for the support of which not the least 
grounds are at hand. Under no circumstances 
can it be the business of science to swerve 



68 



Tilings New and Old. 



from the straight path of calm research in or- 
der to bolster up a favorite theory." 

Cuvier, the French Zoologist and Physiolo- 
gist, who can surely speak with authority on this 
and kindred subjects, says (Theory of the Earth, 
p. 123): "I have examined with the greatest 
care the engraved figures of quadrupeds and 
birds upon the obelisks ; and all these figures 
have a perfect resemblance to their intended 
objects such as they still are in our days. Not 
the slightest difference is to be perceived be- 
tween these animals and those of the same 
species which we now see, any more than be- 
tween human mummies and skeletons of men 
in the present day." This means that in the 
last three thousand years, at least, there has 
been no appreciable development of the animal 
toward man. 

Hugh Miller, the eminent geologist, makes 
the following emphatic assertion (Testimony 
of the Rocks, p. 77) : " No great Palaeontologist 
was ever yet an assenter of the Development 
Hypothesis." Miller's position on the fixity of 
species is indorsed by the English Geologists 
Brewster, Faraday and Sedgewick, as well as 
by the Americans Dawson, Hitchcock and Dana. 



The Folly of Atheism. 



6 9 



M. Quatrefages, another French scientist, no 
less talented than Cuvier, declares (Natural 
History of Man, p. 71): " Let us own it, then, 
frankly and without false shame, we yet know 
nothing of the way by which organic beings 
came to exist on the surface of the globe. " 
Page 87 : " In the name of scientific truth, I 
can affirm we have had for our ancestor neither 
a gorilla nor ourang-outang nor a chimpanzee; 
any more than a seal or a fish or any other 
animal whatever." 

Then comes Agassiz, the noble American, 
and deals Darwinian Evolution a heavy blow 
by saying: "I see that many of the natural- 
ists of our day are adopting facts which do not 
bear observation." 

Last of all we quote from the very recent 
speech of Lord Salisbury, delivered at Ox- 
ford, England, in which he attacked Darwin's 
theory of the origin of species. After charac- 
terizing the theory as not a theory but an 
hypothesis, he says : u I prefer to shelter my- 
self in this matter behind the judgment of 
Lord Kelvin : 1 1 feel profoundly convinced 
that the argument from design has been too 
much lost sight of in recent zoological spec- 



7o 



Things New and Old. 



illations. Overpowering proofs of intelligent 
and benevolent design lie around us, and if 
ever perplexities, whether metaphysical or 
scientific, turn us away from them for a time, 
they come back upon us with irresistible force, 
showing to us through nature the influence 
of a free will, and teaching us that all living 
things depend on one everlasting Creator and 
Ruler.' " 

Certainly any theory against which such 
eminent authorities as these protest, is far 
from being established, despite the floods of 
hypothetical ink and the torrents of eloquence 
that have been spent in its support. Darwin- 
ian Evolution is, therefore, not a doctrine of 
science according to the testimony of the 
scientists themselves. And until there is some- 
thing like a consensus on that point we need 
not be apprehensive about its effect on Chris- 
tian Theism. 

But let us assume that Darwin's school is 
correct and that all organic life on this earth 
had its origin in some " primordial germ." 
Then we ask, where did that primordial germ 
come from ? It certainly has not always ex- 
isted, for then evolution might long ago 



The Folly of Atheism. 



7* 



have run its course. It cannot be supposed 
to have made itself. It must either have 
been created by the living God or its exist- 
ence cannot be explained. Pushing the dif- 
ficulty back millions of years does not avoid 
it. However far we may go back into the ages 
we find ourselves confronted with the alterna- 
tive : " Either life w r as introduced here by the 
divine hand or it cannot be accounted for." 

The friends of evolution have taken refuge 
in the theory of " spontaneous generation," 
by which they endeavor to show that even at 
the present time life can be produced out of in- 
animate substances. They cite us to the well- 
known fact that out of a piece of dead flesh 
there come forth, in due season, living crea- 
tures — maggots, worms, insects ; and that in 
water that has stood stagnant for a certain 
length of time, there are found all manner 
of animals, small it is true, so small that 
they are visible only through the microscope, 
but animals nevertheless. And they say ex- 
ultingly, " Does not that prove that life can 
come out of death without any apparent 
cause?" To which we reply with the utmost 
calmness and positiveness that it doee not. 



72 



Things New and Old. 



For the life that seems to arise from the 
flesh and in the water was either there al- 
ready or it was introduced from the outside. 
If the flesh be placed where the atmosphere 
and the innumerable little life germs that are 
floating in the atmosphere cannot get at it, 
there will be no generation of life in it. And 
if the water be boiled so that the little in- 
fusoria that are now in it are destroyed, there 
will be no further production of life. In 
short, the theory of spontaneous generation 
has been completely exploded. Our revered 
preceptors taught us this in college days al- 
ready, and the learned Darwin himself did not 
deny it. If, therefore, life cannot be produced 
out of death even by artificial means, how 
should it have sprung up spontaneously in 
earlier years ? 

But if they yield this point and simply say, 
" These germs of life were always here, they 
were not generated, but have always existed," 
then they find themselves face to face with 
other difficulties they cannot remove. 

A commonly accepted theory of science is 
that the world was once an immense ball of 
fire, and has gradually cooled off and con- 



The Folly of Atheism. 



73 



densed into its present state. It has been cal- 
culated that the heat of this gaseous globe 
must have been about five thousand degrees 
according to Fahrenheit. Now, it is a simple 
matter of fact that at a temperature of one 
hundred and seventy-five degrees every trace 
of life is destroyed. How then could there 
have been any living germs at a temperature of 
five thousand degrees ? 

In order to avoid that difficulty, they say 
that these life germs were not on the earth at 
that time, but that the universe was floating 
full of them, and that after the earth cooled 
off some of them dropped down on it, and 
thus formed the origin of life here. This view 
also is untenable, because extreme cold as well 
as extreme heat will destroy life, and the universe 
is extremely cold. It is estimated to be about 
two hundred and fifty degrees below zero. No 
living thing could exist at such a temperature 
as that. Thus we are again confronted with 
the question, "Where did life come from?" If, 
as naturalists seem to know, this earth was once 
a ball of fire and cooled off, how can we ac- 
count for the existence of life here ? It could 
not have lived through all the fire, and it 



74 



Things New and Old. 



could not have been in all the icy realms of 
space. This difficulty stares the atheist in the 
face, and he cannot look it, or laugh it, or 
reason it away. He is either forced to the 
conclusion that it was put there by the hand 
of creation, or he must admit that it cannot be 
accounted for. If he would only bow his 
proud head and acknowledge the truth of 
that sublime declaration, " In the beginning 
God created the heaven and the earth," he 
would have a key to unlock this mystery and 
solve the problem. A great First Cause there 
must be. Is it not more dignified and rational 
to believe in a personal and intelligent cause 
than an impersonal one? Is it so difficult to 
give the God of the Bible the honor of being 
the Supreme Head of the universe? Is it not 
folly to run into the most absurd theories 
imaginable rather than to say, " I believe in 
God?" It requires five times as much faith 
to be an atheist and to swallow all these 
ridiculous theories as it does to be a Christian 
believer in " God the Father, the Almighty 
Maker of heaven and earth." 

II. We lay down the further proposition 



The Folly of Atheism. 



75 



that the manifestation of design in nature 
proves the existence of God. It is useless to 
dwell upon this point, for it seems self-evident 
and the argument is, so familiar. "A watch 
implies a watch maker ; a world implies a world- 
maker." When we look upon a skillfully con- 
structed machine, all the parts of which work 
together in perfect nicety, it never occurs to 
us to think of that as the work of chance or 
as having made itself. We attribute it to some 
inventive and intelligent person. Wherever 
there is art and design, we conclude there must 
be back of it a thinking mind. And should 
it be any different in nature from what it is 
in the limited sphere of human activity? Do 
not the works of nature the more imply a 
wise creator, inasmuch as they are greater and 
more wonderful than the works of art ? Or is 
there any one who will dispute that there is de- 
sign m nature? Surely his eyes must be blind 
and his reason blunted. The sun that shines, 
the clouds that water the earth, the seed that 
bears fruit, do they not all show evidence of 
design in the ceaseless discharge of their func- 
tions? Or consider man himself, whose anat- 
omy is the crown of physical creation. How 



76 



Things New and Old. 



nicely every part is adapted to its purpose, 
and how " fitly the whole body is joined to- 
gether, and compacted by that which every 
joint supplieth." Consider the eye, more ac- 
curate and complete than any artist's camera. 
Consider the ear, the delicate bridge between 
the outer world of sense and sound and the 
inner world of the soul. Consider the hand 
that writes and paints and draws sweetest mu- 
sic from harp or organ ; or the foot, the 
elastic and mobile pedestal upon which the 
entire body is balanced. Is there no design 
in these, or in any of the other members of 
the human body? We do not wonder that 
Galen, a celebrated physician, said that he 
would challenge any one, after a study of a hun- 
dred years, to find the smallest bone or fiber 
of the human system that could be better 
located either for practical use or comeli- 
ness of appearance. The existence of an intel- 
ligent plan and purpose in nature is so patent 
that further proof is unnecessary. 

We cannot put the argument better than it 
was once done by the great Napoleon. When 
returning to France from the expedition to 
Egypt, a group of French officers entered one 



The Folly of Atheism. 



77 



evening into a discussion concerning the exist- 
ence of God. They were on the deck of the 
vessel that carried them over the Mediter- 
ranean. Thoroughly imbued with the infidel 
and atheistic spirit of the times, they were 
unanimous in their denial of this truth. They 
finally agreed to refer the subject to Napo- 
leon, who was standing alone, wrapt in silent 
thought. On hearing the question, "Is there 
a God?" he raised his hand, and pointing to 
the starry firmament, simply responded, "Gen- 
tlemen, who made all this ? " 

What answer these officers made to Na- 
poleon's query, or whether they made any, 
we are not informed; but had he been sur- 
rounded by a group of modern infidels they 
would, of course, have answered, and answered 
differently according to their various opinions. 
Some w r ould have said , " The universe always 
existed ;" others, " It evolved itself out of 
atomic chaos;" still others, "I don't know." 
So the great conqueror would have been re- 
galed by as many different theories as there 
were infidels present, and would have heard 
enough philosophical nonsense in ten minutes 
to last him the rest of his natural life. 



78 



Things New and Old, 



Whatever faults Napoleon may have had he 
was at least level-headed on the subject of 
creation and divine sovereignty, for while he 
recognized no earthly lord he was ready 
to join with the four and twenty elders 
who cast their crowns before the throne of 
Him that liveth forever, saying, " Thou art 
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor 
and power ; for thou hast created all things 
and for thy pleasure they are and were 
created/' 

This is the only reasonable view, and the 
only one that does not involve us in ab- 
surdity. Any other simply multiplies and in- 
creases the mystery connected with the origin 
of the universe. To say , " There is no God," 
seems like a stubborn and silly evasion of the 
truth. To say, "I believe in God," solves a 
hundred enigmas and answers a hundred ques- 
tions which must forever remain unanswered 
from any other source. " What am I ? Why 
am I here ? Whither do I go ?" find no re- 
sponse from the atheist, the materialist, the 
pantheist. He is, indeed, foolish who expects 
any light on these perplexing questions from 
infidelity. The German poet Heine has graph- 



The Folly of Atheism. 



79 



ically expressed the helplessness and folly of 
the atheist : 

"By the sea, by the dreary, darkening sea 
Stands a youthful man, 

His heart all sorrowing, his head all doubting, 
And with gloomiest accent he questions the billows : 

" ' Oh solve me life's riddle I pray ye, 
The torturing, ancient enigma, 

O'er which full many a brain hath long puzzled — 
Tell me, What signifies Man f 

Whence came he hither? W^here goes he hence? 
Who dwells there on high in the radiant planets?' 

"The billows are murmuring their murmur unceasing; 
Wild blows the wind — the dark clouds are fleeting ; 
The stars are still gleaming so calmly and cold, 
And a fool awaits an answer." 



"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; 
that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound 
to every good work." — 2 CuR. IX : 8. 



IV. 



THE CHRISTIAN AND HIS WEALTH. 

No country of the present time can show so 
much of the providential in its history or boast 
of so wonderful a progress and so remarkable 
a prosperity as our own. The wealth and fertil- 
ity of the United States have become proverb- 
ial. The Lamp of Aladdin could not conjure 
up such treasures as lie stored in our subter- 
ranean vaults and are only waiting to be brought 
forth. The golden grain that each summer 
waves upon our sunny fields exceeds by far 
the products of any other country on earth. 
Our elevators are mountain high, and still not 
high enough to meet the demands upon them. 
This year alone we have raised five hundred 
million bushels of wheat, an amount of which 
we can hardly form an adequate conception. A 
fabulous quantity of oats and corn and other 

cereals are annually gathered from our fertile 

6 (81) 



82 



Things New and Old. 



plains. With such wonderful fruitfulness and 
all our natural resources it is not strange that 
our country has come to be regarded the El- 
dorado of the age. Cousin John is rich, but 
brother Jonathan is outstripping him. The 
total wealth of the United States is estimated 
at sixty-five billion dollars, which would be an 
average of a little more than one thousand dol- 
lars to every citizen. Surely we are a chosen 
people called to dwell in the richest, fairest 
land on the round globe. 

Yet it is true that, while we have great wealth 
as a nation and have comparative safety in its 
possession and enjoyment, there are certain in- 
equalities connected with our social system and 
certain dangers arising out of those inequalities 
that we would do well to consider. While we 
sit here in a spirit of gratitude, possibly in a 
mood of complacency over our national and 
personal blessings, it might be not only proper 
but also profitable to give a moment's thought 
to the wrongs of our social system and some of 
the evils that are concomitant with our mate- 
rial prosperity. That eminent statistician, Mr. 
Thomas G. Shearman, in a recent article in the 
Forum, furnishes ample food for reflection. He 



The Christian and his Wealth. 83 



says there that it is possible to make a list 
of ten persons whose wealth averages a hun- 
dred million each, and another list of fifty per- 
sons whose wealth averages twenty-five million 
each, and another list of seventy persons whose 
wealth averages ten million each. He says, 
" No such lists can be made up in any other 
country. The richest dukes of England fall be- 
low the average wealth of a dozen American 
citizens ; while the greatest bankers, merchants 
and railway magnates of England cannot com- 
pare in wealth with many Americans. " He 
predicts that under the present conditions the 
wealth of this country will, in less than thirty 
years, be practically owned by about fifty thou- 
sand persons. We cannot vouch for the accu- 
racy of these statements, but if they in the least 
approximate the truth they are deserving of 
the serious attention, not only of the sociologist 
but of every Christian citizen, for when the 
wealth of a nation becomes concentrated into the 
hands of a few men there is danger of social 
revolution. 

It is not, however, from the standpoint of 
the political economist that we would discuss 
this subject this evening, but from the stand- 



8 4 



Things New and Old. 



point of the Christian citizen. We know of a 
remedy for these evils which the student of 
social science ought not to despise. It can be 
said of wealth as it was said of the spear of 
Achilles : Reverse it, and it will heal the 
wounds which it has made. We believe that 
a considerate use of property will correct the 
wrongs and dangers arising from the accumu- 
lation of it. Let the political economist resort 
to legislation ; to the Christian there is another 
way to the solution of these difficulties. It is 
not by declaring property to be robbery, not by 
rushing into the arms of a vulgar communism, 
not by casting insinuations at him who, 
through diligence and careful management, has 
accumulated a competency, not by fanning the 
flame of caste hatred, but by a proper use of 
the means with which God has blessed us. 

The ownership of temporal possessions is 
quite scriptural, and, indeed, the subject of di- 
vine promise. St. Paul, in the passage we have 
placed at the head of this discourse, urges the 
Corinthians to give liberally of their substance 
in charity, with the assurance that they will 
receive for it an abundant return ; that if they 
do what is pleasing to God, they will be the 



The Christian and his Wealth. 85 



gainers, even in a material sense. " He is able 
to make all grace abound toward you ; that ye, 
always having all sufficiency in all things, may 
abound to every good work." Our theme, there- 
fore, shall be : The duties and obligations arising 
from the Christian citizen s possession of wealth. 

And the very first duty that we men- 
tion is the support of Christian institutions, 
and the spread of Christian principles. We 
believe that there is no way in which the pros- 
perous citizen can better manifest his patriot- 
ism, or do more for the welfare of the country 
and the defense of society, than by the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of Christian churches. 
In making this assertion we do not under-esti- 
mate the importance of our public schools. 
They are efficient as allies to religion, and de- 
serve the hearty support of every true-minded 
American ; but they dare not be regarded as 
the main promoters of that spirit so indispens- 
able to the preservation of our social and po- 
litical institutions. They deal with the mind 
almost exclusively. The church deals with the 
heart as well as the mind, and furnishes, 
therefore, a more complete education and a 
better preparation for good citizenship. 



86 



Things New and Old. 



It does not require a Solomonic wisdom to 
recognize that in the development of the citi- 
zen the heart must be taken into account, for 
it affects character more directly than does the 
head. A purely mental education is insufficient 
and unsatisfactory. The old saying that knowl- 
edge is power is indeed true, but the power 
may be for evil as well as for good. It can be 
used to the detriment of society as well as in 
its interest. Mere intelligence is not an elevat- 
ing agency. The greatest possible knowledge 
of history, geography and other branches of 
learning will not of itself produce a good and 
honorable citizen. Culture in the head does not 
necessarily keep wickedness out of the heart. 
It is a simple matter of fact that some of the 
most scholarly men have been the most ungodly 
and depraved of creatures. Only think of Byron 
and Bacon and Doctor Dodd of England, the 
German poet Heine, Professor Webster and 
others. They all were highly educated and yet 
utterly corrupt. Their profound erudition did 
not prevent their complete degradation. It is 
possible for men to be learned and yet be knavish. 
Their information, without correct moral bias, 
may make them all the more potent for evil. 



The Christian and his Wealth. 



8/ 



The human heart is a factor that must by all 
means be dealt with and that dare not be ignored 
even by the political economist. The heart is 
the man and its improvement is all-important. 
Correct ethical principles in our citizenship are 
a stronger defense to the state than all possible 
knowledge. And these principles cannot exist 
except as they are based on religion. That citi- 
zen is not reliable who is not filled with a sense 
of responsibility to God. Plutarch spoke the 
truth when he said, ''There never has been a 
state of atheists. Sooner may a city stand with- 
out foundations than a state without belief in 
the gods." Not all infidels are anarchists, but 
it is an indisputable fact that all anarchists 
are infidels. These desperate revolutionists spit 
their wormwood on church and state alike. 
They are by no means numskulls, but are lack- 
ing all moral and religious culture. It is, there- 
fore, the duty of the Christian to support that 
institution which alone can supply that indis- 
pensable element to loyal citizenship. There is 
no better purpose to which he can devote his 
means than the sustenance of the church which 
seeks to make men not only wise but also good. 

The second duty we mention as arising 



88 



Things New and Old, 



from this cause is that of work. The com- 
mon view seems to be that the possession of 
wealth exempts from work, that the rich man 
by reason of his riches is justified in living a 
life of idleness. This opinion we believe to 
be erroneous, and contend that wealth involves 
a moral as well as a social obligation to work, 
especially in these times of discontent and 
agitation among the masses. A great deal of 
the prejudice of the poorer against the better 
classes arises from the fact that many of the 
latter spend their time in careless ease. The 
working man bitterly reproaches the landlord 
and the capitalist with doing nothing while 
he is doomed to a lifetime of toil and drud- 
gery. The man of means ought to engage in 
work of some kind, either mental or manual. 
He is a member of the social organism, and 
as such owes it to his fellow members to be 
occupied in some useful form of activity. He 
ought to work, not because he has need of it, 
but because it is a divine ordinance based on 
right and justice. God has said through his 
inspired apostle, " If any do not work neither 
shall he eat." And from this law there is no 
exception. The healthy man who does not 



The CJiristian and Ids Wealth. 



work, whether he be rich or poor, an elegant 
gentleman or a seedy sluggard, is after all only 
a leech on the community. 

No class of people has the privilege of idle- 
ness more than any other. Yet it is so com- 
mon to call indolence a vice when it is in- 
dulged in by a poor man, but to look 
upon it as an attribute of respectability when 
indulged in by a rich man. There is a double 
code of morals which calls labor a virtue 
and at the same time makes it a disgrace and 
consigns it to the realm of social inferiority. 
The workingman is forced to feel that labor 
is dishonoring because the so-called better 
classes of society avoid it and withhold their 
lily-white hands from any kind of employ- 
ment. The millionaire will pat the laborer on 
the shoulder yet will have nothing to do with 
him socially, simply because he is a laborer. 
This duplicity in the upper circles has the 
effect of making the wage-worker dissatisfied 
with his lot. 

And since the prevalent feeling of discon- 
tent among the proletariat was in part pro- 
duced by the rich man, it is he who can best 
allay it. He can most effectually teach the 



go 



Things New and Old, 



laboring man that work is not a burden or a 
disgrace, but an honor and a blessing. He 
can do this by engaging in work himself, 
even though his temporal necessities do not 
demand it. By his own example in doing 
something, he can demonstrate that work, 
while it may at times make life sour, is also 
that which gives it its spice and its enjoy- 
ment. 

Why is it that the spirit of discontent has 
not penetrated into the agricultural districts 
to any great extent? Why is the breach be- 
tween capital and labor so narrow there as 
compared with the populous cities? It is be- 
cause the farmer's hireling sees that the farmer, 
even though he be rich, works nevertheless, 
and does it willingly. In the field, on the 
threshing floor, at the hay ricks, they stand 
side by side, each earning a livelihood in the 
sweat of his brow. The rural employer does 
not taboo his men socially, or make them feel 
inferior by declining to soil his hands with 
them in the work of the farm. They drudge 
along together, and thus obliterate the odious 
line that has been drawn between capital and 
labor. And with the removal of this feeling 



The Christian and his Wealth. 91 



of distinction there vanishes the feeling of 
discontent. 

This gratifying lesson in social economy 
furnished by the agricultural capitalist should 
serve as a valuable suggestion to all who 
have others in their service. The wise em- 
ployer is he who does not disdain to come 
in contact with his men, and who himself 
takes a hand in some useful form of work, 
Such a course will secure for him their re- 
spect and confidence, and will have a benefi- 
cial effect in every way. It was a very hum- 
ble, and yet a very noble, thing that Phillip 
Carteret, the first governor of New Jersey, 
did, when he landed at Elizabethtown. In- 
stead of coming ashore with the royal pomp 
affected by some of the provincial governors, 
he walked from the landing place up into the 
capital, at that time a hamlet of only four 
cottages, with a hoe on his shoulder ; thereby 
showing his intention to become one among 
them, and to work with them. A similar 
motive prompted the late King William, of 
Prussia, to have all of his male children learn 
some useful trade, and thus it came about 
that the lamented Frederic III. was a practi- 



9 2 



Tilings New and Old. 



cal bookbinder, as well as a man of large 
heart and fine culture. There is not a laborer 
in the world but thinks the better of a prince 
or a man of means, because they do not de- 
spise the sweat of honest toil. For the rich 
man to be employed in some useful way 
has a tendency to tone down the asperity be- 
tween the classes, and to demonstrate the cor- 
rectness of the moral code which teaches that 
idleness is a vice, and labor a virtue. Work 
either of head or hand is, therefore, a Chris- 
tian as well as a social obligation, resting with 
equal force upon the millionaire and the pauper. 

The third duty we mention as arising from 
the possession of w r ealth is simplicity of living. 
One of the great sins of this age is extrava- 
gance. There seems to be a perfect mania 
for it. Men amass almost fabulous fortunes 
in a lifetime and then spend them in reckless 
profusion. Never has there been such a wild 
waste of substance as among our American na- 
bobs. They tell us of the luxuriousness of Cleo- 
patra's household, but that dwindles by the side 
of the palaces of our California millionaires. 
They talk of the magnificent banquets of Lu- 
cullus, but it remains to be proven that he 



The Christian and Ids Wealth. 93 



ever gave a ball costing a hundred thousand 
dollars, like that of a certain New York rail- 
road king. In ancient Rome a private citizen 
once created a sensation by serving his guests 
with pastry made of nightingale tongues. Now- 
adays we are not astonished at a man paying 
fifty thousand dollars for a tea service or a 
hundred thousand for a race horse. Great ex- 
travagance was a rarity in earlier ages, confined 
mainly to royalty, now it has become fre- 
quent. And the objectionable feature about 
it is that it does not observe privacy but loves 
display. The places where these grandees un- 
fold their offensive wantonness are public. 
They disport themselves on the streets of great 
cities, in the theaters and concert rooms, on 
the race courses and at the summer resorts. 
They drive their four-in-hands where the dust 
falls on the workingman, and carry their dia- 
monds where they will dazzle the eyes of the 
poor. They invite the journalist to partake of 
their princely hospitality that he, through the 
press, may obtrude it upon others who would 
not, and should not, have known it. All this 
has a tendency to produce dissatisfaction 
among the laboring classes and should be 



94 



Things New and Old. 



avoided as far as possible by the Christian 
citizen. 

We do not mean that people, who can afford 
it, should not live in good houses and surround 
themselves with comforts, but we do mean that 
they should not be wantonly and selfishly ex- 
travagant, and that they should endeavor to 
avoid the excessive prodigality that may prove 
a stumbling block to the poor. Luxurious liv- 
ing on the part of the well-to-do is calculated to 
irritate the humbler classes, while a reasonable 
simplicity is conciliating and soothing. May 
we not appropriately adduce here as an exam- 
ple the wonderful influence which General Grant 
had over his men. Where and how did this 
great leader win the hearts of his soldiers ? Not 
in glittering parades and splendid triumphal pro- 
cessions, not with the boast of heraldry or the 
pomp of power, but by marching with his men 
over the burning plowshares of battle and shar- 
ing with the humblest soldier the hardships and 
dangers of the campaign. Characteristic of the 
illustrious General was a little incident that oc- 
curred at Culpeper, Virginia. The army was 
about to return to their winter quarters in 
Washington city. There were two trains stand- 



The Christian and his Wealth. 95 



ing on the track, one of them a special for the 
General. It was the better train and would 
reach the city several hours sooner than the 
other. Some of the soldiers while they were 
waiting stepped on the platform, but were or- 
dered off by a lieutenant saying that that train 
was reserved for General Grant. But the Gen- 
eral overhearing the order said, " Go in, boys ; 
there's room enough for all. One seat's enough 
for me." Such condescension and simplicity 
won for him the affection and unalterable loyalty 
of his men. Knowing him to be a plain and 
unaffected citizen like themselves they endured 
the hardships and faced the perils of the cam- 
paign without a murmur. There is more force 
in such practical sympathy than is dreamed of 
by the man of means. 

There are still other duties arising from the 
possession of wealth which we have not time 
to consider now. They may all be grouped 
together under the general head of benevolence. 
It is a pleasure to us and a credit to our 
Christian civilization to be able to say that 
there is no lack of this noble quality among 
our citizens. Benevolence there is in abundance, 
but not enough beneficence. Vast sums of 



9 6 



Tilings New and Old. 



money are expended in charity which do more 
harm than good. The donors are well-mean- 
ing people, but bestow their gifts in a blind, 
unintelligent sort of a way which encourages 
rather than diminishes poverty. Andrew Carn- 
egie is responsible for the statement that out 
of every one thousand dollars given in charity 
nine hundred and ninety-five are wrongfully 
bestowed and foster what they were intended 
to cure. It is reasonable to believe that 
the easier people can secure financial aid for 
the mere asking, the less likely they are to 
become self-supporting. What the great major^ 
ity of the poverty-stricken need is not so much 
money as a personal frierid. Sympathy, careful 
advice and aid in securing employment will 
go further toward relieving chronic poverty 
than the constant and indiscriminate bestow- 
ing of alms. 

The best and the simplest form of practical 
benevolence we have yet heard of is that pro- 
posed by the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes of Lon- 
don. His work is largely among the needy classes 
in the East End of that great city. The plan 
he is trying to operate is that of placing a 
poor family under the guardian care of a well- 



The Christian and his Wealth. 97 



to-do family, charging the latter with a friend- 
ly interest in, and a certain degree of responsibil- 
ity for, its ward. This will necessitate an occa- 
sional visit and an oral conference about the 
needs of the latter and thus will bring about 
that personal contact without which charity 
can do but little good. He says, " Would it 
not be a blessed thing if we could persuade 
some of the comfortable and well-to-do classes 
of the West End to interest themselves per- 
sonally and directly in some of the honest, 
sober and industrious classes in the East End 
who are poverty-stricken and in need of as- 
sistance? Would, it not be desirable to ask 
Christian men and women, heads of houses, 
and their families, to act as patrons to a par- 
ticular family instead of subscribing to some 
charitable fund which others distribute ? 
Money could be given where money was 
needed, the girls could be assisted into service, 
and the boys into business. If Christian house- 
holds are interested in particular families their 
sympathies will be more drawn forth ; different 
classes will be brought more together; and 
the general well-being will be more promoted 
than by the vague distribution of gifts." 
7 



9 8 



Things New and Old. 



In pursuance of his plan, Rev. Hughes 
spends a portion of the week in cursory visita- 
tion among the destitute to learn where 
charity is needed. On the following Sabbath 
he will say to his congregation, many of whom 
are wealthy people : " I have here the addresses 
of a certain number of needy families with a 
full description of their size and condition, and 
I would like a certain number of other fam- 
ilies each to become patrons of one of these, 
and agree to take a sympathetic and personal 
interest in them." He invariably succeeds in 
affecting the desired arrangement, and thus 
gives an intelligent and sensible direction to 
the benevolent feelings of his people. The 
usual desultory and spasmodic character of 
charity is thus avoided, and a steady, careful, 
and discriminating benevolence substituted in 
its place. 

We know no better method of rendering ef- 
fectual and lasting aid to the neglected classes 
of society. There are other schemes of syste- 
matic charity, yet this seems to us the sim- 
plest and the best. But whatever our view of 
any particular scheme may be, there is no 
evading the duty of " doing good unto all 



The Christian and his Wealth. 



99 



men." In some form of charity every pros- 
perous Christian citizen should be actively in- 
terested. This is not only a direct command- 
ment, but a social obligation also. Our relation 
to the commonwealth demands of us a broth- 
erly concern for our fellow citizens. We can- 
not continue to selfishly ignore their claims 
without imperiling the very existence of soci- 
ety. The prevalent discontent and unrest will 
not bear increasing. And the indifference of 
Christian men of means to the wants and 
woes of the destitute will have that effect. 
Deeds of kindness and charity, on the other 
hand, will tend to soothe the agitated spirits, 
and will serve as " coals of fire " on the heads 
of those who feel hostile to our social organi- 
zation. They may not be the means of con- 
verting the radical and blood-thirsty anarchist, 
but they may be the means of hindering others 
from adopting similar views, and rushing upon 
the dangerous ground of atheistic socialism and 
general revolution. 

We have here in this Western Republic the 
most enlightened and progressive people on the 
earth. In religion, in morals, in parliamentary 
reform, we are in the van of the nations. And 



IOO 



Things New and Old. 



for that reason it is likely that here shall be 
settled the perplexing sociological and economi- 
cal questions looming up before us. If these 
questions are to be settled correctly, the Chris- 
tian religion must be influential in the settle- 
ment. There is, therefore, a great responsibility 
resting upon the shoulders of those who pro- 
fess that religion. Carelessness and selfishness 
and narrow sectarianism are criminal in these 
days of class hatred and strained communal 
relations. We Christians, when we lay aside 
our petty jealousies and unite our forces, are 
simply irresistible. May we then, in the name 
of God and humanity, combine heartily to se- 
sure a proper solution of the problems that 
involve the welfare of the country, and ulti- 
mately also of the church. 



Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." 

— Exodus XX : 



V. 



THE SUNDAY QUESTION. 

THE strongest opposition to a proper observ- 
ance of the Christian Sabbath in this country 
comes from the friends of so-called personal 
liberty. With very imperfect views of the great 
blessing of liberty they are making a desperate 
resistance to what they regard an encroachment 
upon their rights. The zeal manifested by them 
in this unholy struggle is worthy of a better 
cause and calls for the very best efforts of 
Christians to counteract it. 

There is a wide difference of opinion as to 
what extent the individual must be lost in the 
community and as to how far he should obey 
the behests of society in general. To define 
just where state authority ends and personal 
liberty begins is one of the most critical, yet 
at the same time one of the most important, 
problems of the age. Society will never be 
(102) 



The Sunday Question. 103 



thoroughly settled until the lines are distinctly 
drawn and properly observed. In European 
lands, where the legitimate authority of the state 
is so often exceeded by arrogant monarchs, the 
question assumes a still more serious aspect 
than it does here. There despotism has been 
carried to such an extent that its opposite, com- 
munism, is being rapidly developed. The love 
of power over their fellowmen seems to have 
become a mania with some of the rulers of 
the old world. The spirit of Louis the XIV. 
is not yet extinct. There are monarchs 
still who, while they may not openly express 
his well-known L Etat cest moi (I am the state), 
nevertheless feel that they are the embodiment 
of the state and that the only duty of their 
subjects is to serve them and make them com- 
fortable. Under such government the demand 
for personal liberty may be just, but there is 
no reason why the demand created there should 
be reiterated here. Under a " government of 
the people, by the people and for the people " 
the cry of " personal liberty " is unwarranted. 
Yet we are compelled to hear it on every hand 
and as an excuse for a multitude of sins. 
The demand for personal liberty in our 



104 Things New and Old. 

republic is a sophistry. " Personal liberty," 
as it is understood and advocated by some 
of our citizens, would become the grave of 
real liberty. There is much prating about 
personal liberty, but it is a desecration and 
a prostitution of the genuine thing. Every- 
body who is about to violate any of the 
proprieties of society or of the laws of the 
land, cries out " personal liberty" as a sort 
of a palliative of the act. " Personal liberty," 
thinks the boy when he plays truant or in- 
dulges in a bit of ruffianism. " Personal lib- 
erty," thinks the young man when he walks 
up to the bar for a glass of " the dark fluid 
of perdition," or lays his head within reach 
of the shears of Delilah. " Personal liberty," 
thought Mrs. Langtry when, with a husband 
living, she tolerated and even encouraged the 
attentions of a notorious cicisbeo. " Personal 
liberty," thought that brutal, drunken hus- 
band in New Jersey when he plucked out 
the eyes of his wife. " Personal liberty," 
what crimes have been committed in thy 
name, and what enemies of society invoke 
thy protection ! What a fearful misuse is 
made of a sacred thing ! The fight against 



The Sunday Question. 



105 



law and order, the fight against religion and 
morality, the fight against purity and society, 
the fight against all that is good and holy, 
is made in the name of " personal liberty." 
Such a claim as is advanced by some of our 
fellow citizens is extravagant. The state in 
which it is allowed will soon become a state 
of chaos. In the conflict of apparent personal 
interests every man's hand would be lifted 
against his neighbor. A howling wilderness 
would be preferable to the community where 
every citizen does as he pleases. The privi- 
leges of the individual must be limited by 
the rights of society in general. No conscien- 
tious person will insist on a benefit when it 
must be taken at the expense of a similar 
benefit to some one else. Much less will any 
right-minded person indulge in a pleasure at 
the cost of an idea or an institution sacred 
to others. One of ^Esop's fables teaches a 
moral bearing on this point. Some boys, 
playing on the banks of a pond, spied a num- 
ber of frogs, and began pelting them with 
stones. After many of the poor creatures 
had been killed, one, more courageous than 
the rest, lifted his head above the water and 



io6 



Things New and Old. 



said : " Stop your cruel sport, my lads ; re- 
member, what is play to you is death to us." 
The privileges claimed and the amusements 
engaged in by some members of society are 
death to the rights of others; and he must 
be a very coarse, vulgar person, who will per- 
sist in enjoying himself in such a way as to 
wound the feelings of others, and jeopardize 
time-honored institutions. Every true citizen 
will have respect to the welfare of his fel- 
low citizens and the good of society in gen- 
eral. There is no restraint put upon any 
one, except so far as to secure the rights of 
others. This is not tyranny, but general lib- 
erty for all. Without regard for the welfare 
of the commonwealth genuine personal liberty 
would be inconceivable. With these prefatory 
remarks we are ready for the discussion of 
the subject proper. 

I. The importance of the Sabbath from the 
standpoint of the citizen will receive our first 
attention. Leaving for the present the interests 
of the church out of view, we believe that the 
interests of the state demand the preservation 
of the Sabbath. But in advocating its protec- 



The Sunday Question. 107 



tion by law there are two extremes to be 
avoided. We must steer between Scylla and 
Charybdis — the state church on the one hand, 
and the absolute separation of government from 
religion on the other. 

The union of church and state is an unnatural 
one. Whether it be such a union as is dreamed 
of by the pope, or such a union as actually ex- 
ists in England, Germany and Russia, it implies 
a certain measure of religious thralldom and is 
detrimental to the interests of both church and 
state. Political interference in matters of con- 
science is tyranny. Kings, parliaments and sen- 
ates ought not to intrude on that sacred realm. 
Liberty of conscience is the natural right of 
every man born of woman and ought to be re- 
spected. Laws making church attendance com- 
pulsory would soon become odious. Congress 
arranging a table of scripture lessons and 
deciding the length of morning and evening 
prayer would be sneered at by both Christian 
*md non-Christian. The senate assigning to 
ministers their charges and appointing church 
officers would be regarded as high-handed and 
arbitrary in the extreme. Such interference 
would be productive of jealousy and revolution. 



io8 



Things New and Old. 



The European monarchies may still be able to 
do something of this kind, but it is inconceiva- 
ble here. American manhood and love of fair 
play would protest against it. According to 
our minds the eagle of government and the 
dove of the Holy Spirit are birds of a differ- 
feather. The state church belongs to earlier 
ages and is thoroughly impracticable in a re- 
public. 

On the other hand, we must remember that 
the state cannot be totally divorced from reli- 
gion. There is no truth of political philosophy 
more fully confirmed than that social stability 
is impossible without some kind of religious 
life among the people. Where there is no 
faith in a supreme being, and no feeling of 
responsibility to such a being society is neces- 
sarily weak and government insecure. Atheism 
is a sandy foundation for the body politic. This 
lesson we can learn even from paganism. We 
believe it was Plutarch who said, " There never 
has been a state of atheists. Sooner may a 
city stand without foundations than a state 
without belief in the gods." Laplace, the 
French scientist, expresses the same truth in 
somewhat different language : " I have lived 



The Sunday Question, 109 



long enough to know what at one time I did 
not believe — that no society can be upheld 
in happiness and honor without sentiments of 
religion/' If, upon such authority, religion is 
indispensable to any well-ordered community, 
we may also safely declare that the Sabbath 
is indispensable. The one truth practically in- 
cludes the other, for the Sabbath is the fos- 
ter-mother of religion, the strongest safeguard 
and defense of social integrity. Coming, as it 
does, in the midst of our secular occupation, 
putting a check on all sordid desires and ac- 
tivity, and pointing the mind inward and up- 
ward, it gives elevated tone to private and 
public life, and becomes a strong support to 
social purity and honor. There is no more 
faithful paladin of law and order and no bet- 
ter guide to true citizenship than this bright 
and holy seventh day, which has by heaven's 
enactment been placed among the days of the 
week. Apart from any ecclesiastical connec- 
tion, it is a boon to human nature in gen- 
eral and is indispensable to right living. The 
body and the mind, as well as the spirit, 
make it a necessity. The views of Bishop, 
an eminent writer on criminal law, are cer- 



IIO 



Things New and Old. 



tainiy correct when he says : " It is a mistake 
to suppose that Sabbath-keeping is a thing 
merely of religious observance, or especially a 
tenet of some particular sect. On the con- 
trary, the setting apart by the whole commu- 
nity of one day out of seven, wherein the 
thoughts of men and the physical activities 
shall be turned into other than their accus- 
tomed channels, is a thing pertaining as much 
to the law of nature as is the intervening of 
the nights between the days." Blackstone, the 
most eminent of all modern authorities on 
law, says: " The keeping of one day in seven 
holy, as a time of relaxation and refreshment, 
as well as for public worship, is of admirable 
service to a state, considered merely as a civil 
institution. It humanizes the lower classes, 
and imprints on the minds of the people that 
sense of their duty to God so necessary to 
make them good citizens." 

If there were no higher grounds it would 
be expedient for the state to preserve the 
Sabbath purely as a moral educator, as the 
promoter of healthy, robust, reliable citizen- 
ship, as a bond encircling and compacting the 
social organization. We lay much stress upon 



The Sunday Question. 1 1 1 



intelligence and go so far as to put a tax on 
all the people to supply free education. The 
state feels that it cannot afford to have its chil- 
dren grow up ignorant, and so makes the most 
comprehensive provision for their instruction. 
But mere intelligence is not enough. Educa- 
tion in itself increases facilities for crime, and 
the simple possession of knowledge may make 
men all the more powerful for evil. Accord- 
ing to the " father of our country" the main 
element of self-government is virtue. There 
is need of educating the public conscience in 
order to make men respect the rights of 
others and reverence law. Religion alone can 
train up reliable citizens of a free and popular 
government. But what would become of the 
religion of the people without this weekly day 
of rest and worship ? The great Roman 
Catholic statesman Montalembert puts the ar- 
gument thus : " Without a Sabbath no worship; 
without worship no religion." He might have 
added, " Without religion no permanent free- 
dom." For if we permit the sanctity of the 
Sabbath to be destroyed, this government will, 
in less than ten years, be under the heels of 
the very worst element of our population. 



I 12 



Tilings New and Old. 



The law of self-preservation would suggest the 
maintenance of the Sabbath. The state makes 
liberal provision for the education of the 
masses, and compels every citizen to bear 
his part of the burden. With equal propriety 
does it demand one day out of seven for the 
fostering of the religious instincts of the people. 
It would be suicidal to neglect so important 
an institution. 

Now it is not the intention of the com- 
monwealth to enforce religious duty by civil 
law, or to impose the religious views and 
observances of Christians upon all people. 
That would mean persecution. We know that 
the Sabbath is as old as the race, and was 
intended to be co-extensive with the race. 
And we believe that it would be an infinite 
blessing to all men, both privately and pub- 
licly, if they were to observe it. Yet we 
would not compel men by law to keep the 
Sabbath as we keep it. We would not ask 
for a statute making it obligatory upon men 
to read the Bible and go to church on Sun- 
day ; for there is no virtue either in reading 
the Bible or in going to church, unless it is 
voluntary. All that Christians ask is that the 



The Sunday Question. 



US 



day be so protected by law as to make it 
possible for them to observe it religiously. 
It is the right of every man to worship God ; 
a right guaranteed him by the government. 
His fellow citizens dare not engage in any 
labor or amusement that will interfere with 
that right or detract from the sanctity 
of the day. If any choose to abstain from 
devotion, that is a matter between themselves 
and God; but they must not disturb the 
peace and quiet of others. To deprive the 
Christian of the right of worship is as real 
and flagrant a wrong as to deprive him of 
his earnings, or to prevent him from getting 
an education. To abridge that right in any 
way is to abridge his liberty. He can wor- 
ship only as he is undisturbed by the din 
of labor and the noise of revelry. Advocates 
of " personal liberty 99 should note this and 
be willing to accord to others what they 
claim for themselves. Our laws do not recog- 
nize all days as worship days to be thus 
protected from disturbance ; but they do thus 
recognize Sunday, and throw over all, who 
desire to worship on that day, their protec- 
tion. This is done on the part of the gov- 
8 



U4 



Things New and Old. 



ernment as a reasonable obligation to a large 
class of citizens, but more particularly be- 
cause the interests of society demand it. 

II. If the Sabbath is of importance to the 
state, much more is it to the church. With 
us here in America, Christianity cannot and 
does not look to the government for any di- 
rect support, but stands upon its own basis. 
It is " rooted and grounded " in the love of 
a free people, and depends on them for its 
maintenance. For this reason good, steady 
habits and pious customs are all the more 
needful. As the conscience of the people de- 
teriorates, the pulse of the church will grow 
weaker. There is no better educator of the 
public conscience than the Sabbath rightly 
observed, and, consequently, the church would 
do well to agitate the Sabbath question for 
the sake of the reflex influence it will have 
upon herself. Her own distinctive interests 
demand the maintenance of that holy day. 
We are loath to think of what might 
be the result upon the church if that bul- 
wark were removed. Perhaps it is not 
extravagant to say, with Dr. Macleod, that 



The Sunday Question. 115 

without the Sabbath the church of Christ 
could not exist as a visible organization on 
the earth. 

Since this is true, and since the state has given 
us laws protecting the quiet of the Sabbath, 
we, as Christians, should do what is in our 
power to bring about a religious observance 
of the day. It is the duty of the church to 
see that this time set apart and sheltered by 
statute is occupied in an edifying manner. 
The state cannot compel men to be devout 
and worshipful, but we can and should con- 
strain them to be so by moral suasion. We 
can, by education and example, do much 
toward a pious keeping of those twenty-four 
hours which the law has inclosed as separate 
from the rest of the week. The religious 
tone of the day depends largely upon the 
conduct and zeal of those who profess reli- 
gion. And it is a matter for regret that many 
nominal Christians themselves fail of realizing 
the true benefit of the Sabbath, by spending 
it in a stupid, listless way, or even openly 
violating its sanctity. 

We have been pained all the summer 
through by hearing that some professing 



ii6 



Things New and Old. 



Christians attend the Sunday ball games just 
beyond the corporation limits, and that others 
patronize excursions of various sorts and in 
various directions. And on a recent Sabbath 
the climax of the season was reached when a 
local church of a sister denomination ran an 
excursion to a neighboring town, for the pur- 
pose of engaging in some religious festivities, it 
is true, but an excursion nevertheless. Such 
inconsiderate conduct on the part of its friends 
does more toward weakening the Sabbath 
than all the noisy demonstrations of the ad- 
vocates of personal liberty. Here, then, is need 
of Christian watchfulness and a wide scope 
for Christian activity. We would not advocate 
stringent measures on the part of ecclesiasti- 
cal authorities, or the adoption of any set of 
rules regulating the demeanor of members 
under their jurisdiction. This would savor of 
religious tyranny and might have the oppo- 
site effect from what is intended. The time 
was — and is ;not far past — when among the 
churches of Switzerland the consistories thought 
it expedient to establish certain laws for the 
guidance of their people. I cite a single in- 
stance, the district of Regensburg. The church 



The Sunday Question, 



117 



boards there laid down the following rules to 
be strictly observed by all Reformed people 
under their charge : 

I. All unnecessary and noisy labor is forbid- 
den. Under this head the following acts are 
specified : (a) The driving and watering of 
cattle during service hours, (b) The gathering 
in of any kind of grain or fruit, (c) All 
washing or hanging up of wash, (d) Any 
work in spring-houses. (e) All loading or 
transporting of country produce. 

II. For works of necessity special permits 
must be secured from the town council. 

III. The running about of children during 
the morning hours is prohibited. 

IV. The playing of ten pins, except during 
a short space of time in the afternoon, is 
prohibited. 

V. A watch will make the round of the 
district during morning and afternoon services 
to note any violation of the Sunday laws. 

VI. Guilty ones will be turned over to the 
local judge for punishment. 

VII. These rules will be read annually from 



1 1 8 Things New and Old, 

all the pulpits in the district on the first 
Sunday in May. 

Any such proceeding would be inadvisable 
here. We doubt whether it would be expe- 
dient for any consistory to attempt to desig- 
nate allowable or unallowable labors and amuse- 
ments. But this is not necessary. The question 
how to observe the Sabbath ought to be an easy 
one for the Christian. No iron-clad rules can 
be laid down suitable to all cases. The Chris- 
tian, however, knows the meaning of the day. 
He understands its import and purpose. He 
has the example of the Savior, and has his 
own conscience. If he follows these he will 
not go amiss. In this, as well as in doctrine, 
the Spirit will guide him into all truth. 

While this is the case, it might be profit- 
able to indicate a few things that we can do 
toward the maintenance of this holy day. 

I. Ministers can contribute much toward a 
wholesome sentiment on this subject, by refer- 
ring to it in their pastoral visits. A word 
dropped in the homes of the people will not 
fail to have its influence. They can also drive 
a nail at the proper time in the Sunday School 



The Sunday Question. 



119 



and in the catechetical class. But more par- 
ticularly can they help the cause in the Sun- 
day sermon. An edifying service always has 
been, and always will be, the soul of the 
Sabbath. 

II. (a) The people can do much toward 
strengthening the Sabbath spirit by themselves 
resting from their labors, and granting rest to 
others. It is useless to urge men to be reli- 
gious and attend to the wants of the soul, if 
we, by our mode of living, make it necessary 
for them to work so that they have no time 
to think of the soul. 

(J?) The people can encourage the proper 
Sabbath by cultivating home life on that day, 
by making it a day of joy and sunshine, a day 
which may be called a delight instead of a 
burden. 

This and many other things may be done 
to foster a right use of that sacred day. Let 
us frown upon anything that tends to weaken 
its influence, and loosen its grasp upon the 
masses. May God grant that we all come to 
a higher appreciation of this Sabbath herit- 
age. 



"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." 

— Matthew VII: 20. 



VI. 



A COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE OF 
CHRISTIANITY. 

SOME of our hearers may be familiar with 
the writings of the German poet. Lessing. 
Among them is a drama entitled " Nathan 
the Wise." In this drama there is an inter- 
esting story entitled, " The Three Rings." 
The story is told by one of the characters, 
an old Israelite by the name of Nathan, and 
runs about as follows : Far back in dim an- 
tiquity there lived a man who possessed a 
ring of inestimable value. The stone was an 
opal that sparkled in a hundred different 
colors, and had the secret power of making 
him who wore it agreeable to God and man. 
It is not strange, therefore, that this patri- 
arch of the Orient never took it from his 
finger and resolved to keep it within his own 

family forever. He bequeathed the ring to 

(121) 



122 



Things New and Old. 



his best beloved son, and required that 
he again should leave it to the son most 
dear to him, and so on through endless gener- 
ations. By virtue of this legacy and without 
regard to birth, the most agreeable son should 
always be the head and prince of the house- 
hold. Accordingly, this wonderful jewel passed 
downward through successive ages until at 
last it reached a father who had three sons. 
These three sons were equally obedient, and 
consequently equally pleasing to him. Yet 
on different occasions the father was especially 
fascinated with this one or that one. When 
he was with the first he had the weakness 
to promise him the ring ; when he was with 
the second he promised it to him ; and when 
he was with the third he promised it to him. 
Thus each of the three sons lived in antici- 
pation of once possessing the precious treas- 
ure, and each was ignorant of the claims of 
his brothers. As long as the father lived 
this peculiar situation was all right, but, alas, 
the hour of death comes and the good old 
man is in embarrassment. It is impossible to 
give the same ring to three different sons, 
yet it would pain him to disappoint any of 



Estimate of Christianity, 



123 



them. What shall he do? He secretly sends 
to a goldsmith, requesting him to make two 
others after the same pattern. His instruction 
is to produce exact resemblance, without re- 
gard to cost or labor. In this the goldsmith 
succeeds most admirably. When the rings 
are returned, the father himself is not able 
to distinguish the original. There are three ; 
one is genuine, the others are imitations, but 
even the father cannot recognize the true 
ring. With glad heart he calls his sons, one 
after the other, and gives to each his bless- 
ing and his ring. And each lives in the 
blissful delusion that he has the true and 
only ring, and that the other sons are barred 
out from the inheritance. The father dies. 
And now the trouble begins. Each of the 
sons comes fonvard with his ring, and claims 
to be the prince of the household. They 
investigate, and wrangle, and criminate. They 
appear before a judge, and each solemnly 
swears that he received his ring directly from 
his father. Each stoutly affirms that his 
father could not have been false to him, and 
that his brothers must be guilty of decep- 
tion. The judge becomes confused and irri- 



124 



Things New and Old. 



tated. In anger he cries out : " If ye do not 
soon bring that father to the bar, I will 
drive you from my presence. Think ye, that 
I am here to solve riddles? Or wait ye un- 
til the true ring opens its mouth to speak 
for itself? But hold! I hear the real jewel 
has the miraculous power of making its owner 
beloved, agreeable to God and men. Now, 
this will decide. The spurious ones certainly 
cannot have the same effect. Which one of 
you three do the other two love the most? 
Who is the most amiable and agreeable 
among you? Speak out. You are silent. 
You all love yourselves the best. You are 
all three deluded. None of the rings is gen- 
uine. The original ring was doubtless lost. 
As a substitute the father had these made 
to order. My advice to you is, accept the 
situation. Let each believe his ring to be 
genuine. It may be that the father purposely 
produced this state of affairs in order to 
prevent the tyranny of the one over the 
others. Certain it is that he loved all three, 
and loved all three equally, for he refused to 
show partiality. Now, go, and endeavor to 
confirm your claims; bring out the. virtue of 



hstimate of Christianity. 125 



your respective rings; and in a thousand 
years return again to this bar. A wiser judge 
will then preside, and render a decision." 

Thus runs the parable. Now, listen to the 
interpretation: The father is the great ''Father 
of us all." The three rings represent the 
three religions most prominent at that time, 
the Christian, the Jewish, and the Moham- 
medan. The fact that the judge was unable 
to distinguish the genuine ring represents the 
alleged equality of these different forms of 
religion, and places Judaism and Mohammed- 
anism on a level with Christianity. 

Now, this is Lessing's creed — a most in- 
genious and pleasing way of expressing a very 
objectionable opinion. In this parable the 
learned author strikes an insidious blow at 
Christianity by ranking the divine scriptures 
with the sacred writings of paganism, by 
lowering the Bible to a level with the Koran 
and the Talmud. This is the form which in- 
fidelity assumed a hundred years ago, placing 
Moses and Mohammed and Jesus Christ into 
one category, and recognizing no religion as 
superior to any other. 

It is our purpose to inquire this evening 



126 



Things New and Old. 



whether such a position can reasonably be 
held. We shall make a brief comparison of 
the different systems of religion, in order to 
discover their relative merits. But instead of 
Mohammedanism we shall substitute Confuci- 
anism. The change is justifiable, since it 
does not affect the principle involved, and 
may be of added interest because of recent 
developments. And in order to be scriptural 
we shall apply the divine adage : " By their 
fruits ye shall know them." We shall make 
the influence which these forms of religion 
have exerted upon their devotees the stand- 
ard by which to judge them. 

I. And first let us examine Confucianism, 
the religion now prevalent in China. Its 
founder, the man after whom it is named, 
lived five hundred years before the time of 
Christ. It is called a religion, but it scarcely 
deserves the name, as it is only a system of 
social and political life based upon a slight 
foundation of philosophy. It contains no 
trace of a personal God. Its deity is an im- 
personal power back of everything we see. 
The idea of creation, as understood by Chris- 



Estimate of Christianity, 127 



tians, was utterly unknown to Confucius. u He 
looked upon the universe rather as a stupen- 
dous, self-sustaining mechanism. He thought 
that all things existed from eternity, and were 
subject to a flux and reflux, in obedience to 
initial laws impressed upon them, how and 
why, we know not, by some stern necessity. 
Crushing every spiritual tendency of human 
nature, repudiating all speculation, and well- 
nigh all philosophic investigation, Confucius 
strove to direct the attention of men to the 
duties of social and political life." His re- 
ligion has been the religion of China for very 
near twenty -five centuries. If it has any 
" practical" merit, it ought to have manifested 
itself in that length of time at least. 

Now, what have been the fruits of this re- 
ligion ? What effect has it had on the Chinese 
nation ? Anything but an elevating one. 
What character has it impressed on the al- 
mond eyed Mongolian? A moment's thought 
will show you that it is far beneath the char- 
acter which Christianity has stamped upon the 
Caucasian. 

The Chinaman seems totally incapable of 
making any progress. With one exception the 



128 



Tilings New and Old, 



Chinese is the oldest nation on the earth, and 
yet it shows the least disposition toward im- 
provement. It was old already when Babylon 
flourished and Athens was mistress of the 
^Egean sea. The mist of antiquity was on it 
before the Roman Eagle spread his wings in 
conquest. It had reached a fair degree of de- 
velopment long before the Christian era began. 
Yet the Chinaman of twenty centuries ago is 
the Chinaman of to-day. He is inveterate, 
conservative, almost immobile in his habits and 
customs. He has made no progress, and will 
make none as long as the present religion 
holds sway over him. 

The Chinaman is notoriously lacking in 
valor. An essential element in national char- 
acter is bravery. In this he is seriously de- 
ficient. Yea, we might justly apply to him 
an epithet more expressive than that. Recent 
history contains very damaging evidence against 
his martial courage. A few years ago a little 
handful of Europeans were pitted in conflict 
with the flower of the Chinese army. In a 
single battle near the city of Pekin they suc- 
ceeded in routing the whole military force of 
that nation. A corporal's guard of Frenchmen 



Estimate of Christianity. 



129 



defeated the concentrated power of an empire 
of four hundred and fifty million of people. 
During the late struggle with Japan the prin- 
cipal occupation of the Mongolian warriors 
seemed to be " showing the white feather," 
and they made it very conspicuous on a 
number of occasions. Verily, a nation that 
has no better military record than the Chinese 
cannot lay claim to a large measure of physical 
bravery. 

The Chinaman is seriously deficient in many 
of the personal attributes which constitute true 
manhood. Cleanliness, which the Scriptures rank 
next to godliness, is not among his virtues. 
While he excels in purifying the garments of 
others he pays but little attention to his own. 
The average citizen does not change his attire 
until it is worn out, or so thoroughly filthy as 
to be intolerable. The Chinaman is given to the 
excessive use of opium, a habit exceedingly per- 
nicious to the individual and degrading to general 
morality. The Chinaman practices polygamy, 
an institution detrimental to every interest of a 
people. The Chinaman holds woman under the 
foot of oppression, depriving her of education, 
of honor, and of freedom. The Chinaman is 
9 



130 Things New and Old. 



devoid of proper parental affection and regards 
a crippled or deformed child as of no conse- 
quence whatever. If you had been in the city 
of Pekin this morning early you would have 
seen five wagons drawn through the streets, 
with men attending them, not for the purpose, 
as one might suppose, of gathering up refuse, 
but to pick up dead and dying babes which 
parents had cast out during the night, nearly 
all of them female but some of them imperfectly 
formed male children. The Chinaman knows 
nothing of charity. Asylums, infirmaries, hos- 
pitals and other benevolent institutions are for- 
eign to him. The Chinaman is inordinately self- 
ish, unbending in his prejudices, bigoted in his 
opinions, and literally iron-clad against the force 
of logic and superior intelligence. Is any fur- 
ther proof needed to demonstrate his inferiority 
to the Christian? And since the moral and 
social status of a people is largely the product 
of its religion, we justly reach the conclusion 
that Confucianism is inferior to Christianity. 

II. The second ring of the parable, Judaism, 
needs no extensive consideration in this con- 
nection. Its representatives are living here in 



Estimate of Christianity. 



our midst and every hearer can make his own 
comparison. We may, however, appropriately 
quote a few lines from a well-known volume 
entitled, " The American Jew." After showing 
how the Hebrews come to this country with 
scanty garments and without resources, and in 
a comparatively short time occupy prominent 
positions in the financial world, the author pro- 
ceeds to say, " How have these people accom- 
plished this ? Is it by their surpassing intelli- 
gence? No. There is no race of men more 
intelligent than the Aryan. Is it by any useful 
invention on their part, or by devoting them- 
selves to mechanical pursuits ? No, certainly not. 
The most diligent inquiry fails to discover any 
considerable number of Jew farmers through- 
out the territory of the United States. And 
one will look long before he finds a Jew laborer 
among the workmen who build our railroads, 
work our mines, or develop the resources of the 
country. From the time when he first appeared 
upon the face of the earth, until this day, his- 
tory does not record a single invention that 
can be claimed by the Jew. His soft hands and 
curved fingers grasp only the value that others 
have produced. 



132 



Tilings New and Old. 



Jews have never founded a state of any 
magnitude, though they have always been more 
numerous than the Romans, who conquered 
the world, and now exceed in numbers any of 
the minor peoples in Europe. With a momen- 
tary exception in Moorish Spain, they have 
never dominated any people, or conciliated any 
people, or founded any great city. They have 
never produced a great soldier, and we cannot 
yet credit them with a statesman of the first 
class. Lord Beaconsfield was hardly more than 
a great party leader in politics, though he had 
a certain genius for apprehending the passing 
waves of emotion in the British people. Herr 
Lasker has never overthrown a government ; 
M. Fould was only a clear-headed banker ; and 
Sir H. Drummond Wolf has scarcely made a 
mark." We have no sympathy with the blind, 
brutal attacks made on these people in certain 
countries. Nor do we, as some anonymous 
writers have done, accuse them of every vil- 
lainy possible to man. Yet, to our mind, there 
is no question that in inventive genius, indus- 
trial aptitude, commercial integrity, personal 
valor, and in every element of good citizen- 
ship, the Jewish character is far beneath that 



Estimate of Christianity. 133 



of the Christian. It is almost a waste of en- 
ergy to try to prove this to any unprejudiced 
and fair-minded person. And surely it is de- 
rogatory to their Christless religion, that after 
three thousand years it shows no better fruits 
than those we now behold. 

III. We come now to the third ring of the 
parable, namely, Christianity. It is not neces- 
sary for us to rehearse to this audience the 
cardinal truths of the Christian religion, or to 
enter into a discussion of the sublime system 
of doctrines that clusters around the cross of 
Calvary. You are familiar with the distinguish- 
ing features of this great institution, which has 
been the source of so much comfort and illum- 
ination to the race. It stands before you. 
Its dogmas you know ; its effects you see ; 
its genial spirit you have felt. Our purpose 
is to show in brief words that Christianity has 
been and is to-day, the great teacher of 
the world ; that the hand of God has been 
plainly visible in its history, and that the voice 
of God has been speaking through its oracles. 

Let us go back for a moment to the very 
origin of this remarkable power and see in what 



134 



Things New and Old, 



condition it found society and against what odds 
it regenerated and elevated it. At the time of 
its coming into the world Greece and Rome 
were the leading nations, and they seemed to take 
especial pride in the glory of their civilization. 
When, therefore, this young and modest reli- 
gion sprang up in the obscure land of Judea, 
these proud and cultured nations looked down 
upon it with contempt. Even the Jews them- 
selves lifted up their pious noses and said, 
" What good can come out of Nazareth ? " 
But as the church began to grow and to exert 
its influence, the Roman government laid hold 
of it with the hand of power and tried to crush 
it out. For three hundred long years the em- 
perors of that mighty nation persecuted the 
church of God. For three hundred long years 
Christians had to hide themselves in the caves 
and catacombs of the earth or suffer cruel martyr- 
dom. Only occasionally did they come forth 
and then but to find that every man's hand 
was against them. But while God's church was 
being buffeted God himself was still supreme. 
And he resolved to crush these oppressive na- 
tions and eradicate their civilization. Accord- 
ingly, there rolls down from the north an irre- 



Estimate of Christianity. 



135 



sistible flood of Barbarians, a horde of wild and 
savage warriors numbering at least a million 
men. Under the leadership of the fiery and 
blonde-locked Alaric, " the scourge of God," 
they invade the plains of Italy, trampling every- 
thing beneath their merciless tread. They seem 
impelled by an unseen hand and no human 
power can check their progress. They approach 
the walls of Rome, where many a fearful cruelty 
had been practiced upon innocent and heroic 
Christians. Its citizens come forth and beg for 
mercy, with the utmost humility they beseech 
this mighty warrior to spare their city. But he 
says, " I cannot, I cannot, I hear within me a 
voice which says, ' Onward, Alaric, onward.' ' ; 
And so Rome, the proud, the fair, the cruel, 
went down before this terrible horde and the 
glory of her civilization was hurled to the dust. 
Everything was wrecked by these rude invaders 
save one institution, and that was the Christian 
church. By divine protection it withstood the 
shock of this devastating scourge, and, upon the 
ruins of one that w r as past, built up a new and 
a better civilization. This period marked an 
epoch in the world's history, and from this time 
on the influence of Christianity became domi- 



136 Things New and Old. 



nant in the world. The barbarian invaders re- 
turned to their forest homes on the banks of 
the Rhine and the Danube, and the Christian 
began the work of social and moral reconstruc- 
tion upon better lines than those of ancient pa- 
ganism. And whatever of learning and art and 
literature the world enjoys to-day is due prima- 
rily to the healthful, reviving, stimulating influ- 
ence of the church, the only undestroyed institu- 
tion in the midst of that swift and radical 
revolution. The finest paintings ever made by 
the brush of man are the result of religious in- 
spiration. The sublimest music breathed through 
human lips or drawn from man-made instruments 
was composed under the influence of religion 
and since the time of that invasion. The sweet- 
est poetry ever uttered was sung by Christian 
bards and deals with Christian sentiment. 
The sacred and soothing institution of the 
home, as we are familiar with it, is one of 
the fruits of Christianity since it has become 
dominant in the world. Strange as it may 
seem, the comforts of our daily life also come 
to us through the teaching of Jesus Christ. 
Go anywhere outside the pales of Christen- 
dom and you will find the nations poor and 



Estimate of Christianity, 



137 



possessing only limited comforts and conven- 
iences. Their houses will not compare with 
ours. Their towns and cities are without 
sanitation or illumination. Their trade and 
commerce are far inferior to our own. Our 
ships and factories, our schools and colleges, 
our libraries and art galleries are far and away 
the best of any on the earth. In government, 
in physical and intellectual freedom, in an ex- 
alted womanhood and in a pure and unselfish 
benevolence, the Christian nations lead all 
others. There is scarcely a feature, either 
social, moral or mental, in which they are not 
in the van. To what else can our beneficent 
and elevating civilization be attributed than 
to the lessons taught by that religion so 
savagely persecuted and yet so nobly tri- 
umphant ? 

And, further, this religion is not narrow and 
national as are very near all the other reli- 
gions of earth. It is universal and all-compre- 
hensive. It knows no nationality or race or 
color. Its founder gave this last commission 
to his disciples : " Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature," no 
matter where they may be. The Christian 



138 Tilings New and Old. 

has not discharged his duty until he has car- 
ried the message of love to every human 
being, and he has not the spirit of his 
Master unless he is interested in the welfare 
of all men. The genius of Christianity is that 
of universal charity — " a charity which signifies 
love in its purest and highest form, not sim- 
ply almsgiving or the rendering of material aid, 
but the doing of all that can be done to give 
happiness and elevation to mankind." This is 
the purpose of Christianity, and to its accom- 
plishment it is devoting annually millions of 
money and hundreds of its brightest men 
and women. A religion with so broad a spirit 
and such high and holy aspirations is pre- 
eminently deserving of the admiration and 
encouragement of every lover of the race. 

If Lessing, who wrote the story of the rings, 
could not see the difference between Chris- 
tianity and Confucianism, or Christianity and 
Judaism, he must have been purblind, and we 
need not be disturbed by the opinion of a 
blind man in a comparison which is largely 
ocular. 



Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and 
powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good 
work. — Titus III: i. 



VII. 



GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 

Citizenship has always been regarded a 
great privilege. There used to be a saying to 
the effect that to be a Roman was greater 
than a king. And, indeed, it was a great priv- 
ilege to belong to the empire of the Caesars 
in the days of its ancient glory. But if it 
was a great privilege to be a citizen then, 
much more so is it now in our land and un- 
der our government. To use a homely phrase, 
this is " God's country " in a very literal sense. 
This great Republic of the West stands here 
as a monument, not so much of what men 
can do as of what God can do. Almost 
every step leading up to its present greatness 
was not in accord with the designs of men, 
but in most cases directly contrary thereto. 
There is more of the Providential in our his- 
tory than in the history of any other nation 
(140) 



Good Citizenship. 



141 



of modern times. If I were a man of the 
world I would call it the accidental, but, being 
a Christian, I give it a truer designation, and 
call it the Providential. 

The very discovery of this country was an 
accident, humanly speaking. Columbus, when 
he left the Spanish port of Palos with his 
little expedition, was not in search of the 
lost Atlantis, or any other unknown continent, 
but was seeking a westward passage around the 
world. In pursuit of that purpose he unex- 
pectedly came upon the furthest outpost of 
this continent, the island of San Salvador. 
And had it not been for the casual evidences 
of approaching land that floated by them on 
the previous day, the daring navigator would 
doubtless have become a victim to- his muti- 
nous crew, and thus the discovery of this coun- 
try have been projected indefinitely into the 
future. It was not man, but God, who brought 
the events of that critical time to so favorable 
a consummation. 

The Declaration of Independence was also 
an accident, humanly speaking. The Pilgrim 
Fathers and their successors did not come 
here with the purpose of establishing an in- 



142 Things New and Old. 



dependent government, but simply to enjoy 
religious liberty, while remaining politically 
connected with the mother country. Through 
a series of events beyond their control and 
contrary to their wishes they were induced 
to strike off the hand of foreign authority, 
and found this Atlantean republic. 

God's hand was also manifest in our pres- 
ervation during the critical days of the civil 
war. We conquered the South not simply 
because of our somewhat greater resources, 
but especially because we were in the right, 
and, being in the right, could count on the 
favor of God. The relative situation was 
such that foreign military experts pronounced 
the conquest of the rebellion an impossibility. 
Louis Napoleon was so certain of the disso- 
lution of the Union that he proceeded to 
establish the ill-starred empire of Maximilian, 
on our southern border. Even Gladstone de- 
clared that the republic could not be pre- 
served intact, except by a miracle. Yet we 
came out of the conflict with a double 
triumph, for we not only put down the re- 
bellion but also wiped out forever the stain of 
human slavery from the country's escutcheon. 



Good Citizenship, . 143 



Thus we see that the hand of God was 
distinctly visible in the establishment and 
preservation of our government. The Jews 
were God's chosen people in ancient times, 
but we of America seem to be God's chosen 
people in modern times, and for that reason 
I repeat that it is a greater privilege to be 
a citizen here than it has been in any 
country on earth. 

Citizenship, however, is not only a privi- 
lege; it is also - a sacred trust. It is ours 
not only to enjoy, but also to employ, and 
to perpetuate. In the short time at our 
disposal this afternoon, we shall concern our- 
selves more with its obligations than with its 
privileges, and shall enumerate some of the 
duties arising from the Christian citizen's 
relation to the commonwealth. 

The first one is the duty of casting a bal- 
lot at every public election, both primary and 
general. There is a false notion that a 
Christian ought not to take any part in pol- 
itics, or, in other words, ought to have little 
or nothing to do with the government of 
his country. I remember a good old elder, 
a most devout and estimable man, who used 



144 



Things New and Old, 



to tell me that he never voted in all his life- 
time, and that it was a sin to hold public 
office. These things, he said, were worldly 
and corrupting, and no true Christian should 
engage in them. A more erroneous and 
dangerous view than that it would be hard 
to entertain. Over against it I make the 
emphatic assertion that it is just as sacred a 
duty to cast a ballot and take an interest in 
legislation as it is to praise God and pray to 
Him in his house. Government, like the 
church, is of divine institution. "The powers 
that be are ordained of God," says the 
apostle. And that being the case, it is plainly 
the Christian's duty to manifest an interest 
in them. This is particularly true of our 
own government, which bears stamped upon 
it the lineaments of the Christian religion. 

Contrary to the opinion of the freethinker, 
this is a Christian nation. Christianity is in- 
terwoven with the very history and structure 
of our government, and permeates all our 
civil institutions. In proof of this we call 
attention to a few facts among a multitude 
of others. The president annually proclaims 
a day of Thanksgiving to the Almighty for 



Good Citizenship. 



H5 



his mercies. Upon many of our coins is en- 
graved the pious sentiment, " In God we 
trust." The Senate and the House of Rep- 
resentatives, the army and the navy, as well 
as all our prisons and reformatory institutions 
are supplied with chaplains. Church property 
is exempt from taxation. Ordained ministers 
are authorized to solemnize marriages. All 
of our public officials are sworn into office in 
the use of the Bible, and by an appeal 
to the God of Christians. Nearly all the 
states prohibit secular noise and confusion on 
the Sabbath, and in most cases civil contracts 
made on that day are invalid. If these 
things do not signify a tacit recognition of 
the Christian religion, they signify nothing. 
But more conclusive still is the fact that 
our highest courts have repeatedly decided 
that Christianity is a part of the common 
law of the land. 

It would, therefore, be criminal ingratitude 
on the part of the Christian citizen to be 
indifferent toward a government according him 
such distinguished prerogatives as does the 
American. Too long have many of our best 
citizens stood aloof from politics on the flimsy 
10 



146 



Things New and Old. 



plea of the danger of contamination. Simply 
to sing and pray will not clarify political life 
and political methods. To be righteous and 
amiable, without taking part in campaigns and 
elections, will not prevent civic deterioration 
and public corruption. To try to prevent the 
decay of nationalism and yet decline to take 
an interest in public matters is grossly in- 
consistent. The venal politician cares very 
little for our pious faces and our vigorous 
scolding, as long as we remain inactive. Un- 
like Satan, he does not 

" Tremble when he sees 
The weakest saint upon his knees." 

It is the clean, white ballot that he fears. 
For the Christian not to make use of it is 
almost treasonable. The very least he can 
do is to show his appreciation of this best 
of earthly governments by trying to elect to 
office men of purity and integrity. This form 
of activity will accomplish more for its per- 
petuity than pious mutterings or thunderous 
imprecations. 

The second duty we mention is that of tak- 
ing a decisive stand on all social and moral 
questions. This flabby, jellyfish, invertebrate 



Good Citizenship, 



H7 



kind of religion, which tries to be all things 
to all men, will not aid greatly in solving the 
perplexing problems of the day, or contribute 
much toward the welfare of human society. 
And it is a humiliating fact that there is too 
much of that kind of religion. Trimming and 
dodging are among the fine arts of the day. 
Public opinion is a monstrum horrendum to a 
multitude of Christians. They dread to be 
singular from fear they may be talked about. 
They dislike to stand alone though they know 
they are in the right. With marvelous alac- 
rity they hasten to get on the side of the 
majority. The advice which Pickwick gave to 
Mr. Tracy Tupman would be most agreeable 
to them. He said to Tupman, " When you go 
into a town howl w 7 ith the mob, and if there 
are two mobs howl with the biggest." 

There are far too many Christians like the 
tavern-keeper down in Tennessee during the 
civil war. The fellow was trying to be on 
both sides of the rebellion. When there were 
Northern men around he sided with the North ; 
and when there were Southern men around he 
sided with the South. One day, however, he 
was completely nonplussed. A squad of Con- 



148 



Things New and Old. 



federate cavalry who had stolen Union over- 
coats came riding up to the tavern. The 
leader, dismounting, demanded of the pliable 
landlord, "Are you a Reb or a Yank?" The 
landlord hesitated and scanned them from 
head to foot. He looked first at the blue 
overcoats and then at the gray pants, and 
not being able to determine whether they were 
Northern or Southern men, finally answered : 
"Well, I'm no thin ; and I'm not much of 
that." The Christian ought to be something. 
He ought to have a decided complexion and 
a liberal amount of silica up and down his 
backbone. He ought to be brave enough to 
face adverse public sentiment, and more than 
all, to try to mould that sentiment favorable 
to the right. 

I do not understand that " Christian citi- 
zenship" demands that the churches, as such, 
commit themselves to any political party, or 
allow any man, whether statesman or dema- 
gogue, to use them as a tool to subserve his 
own selfish purposes. Our function is to 
create sentiment, and if this be rightly done 
there will be no trouble about the ballot. 
We can arrange for public meetings for the 



Good Citizenship. 



149 



purpose of appealing to the public conscience. 
We can invite to our community such men 
as John G. Woolley and Edward Murphy, 
the silver-tongued apostles of temperance, to 
tone up the people on that burning question. 
We can ask ministers to preach on this and 
other crying evils of the day. We can peti- 
tion city councils for municipal reform. We 
can, in public assembly and by private act, 
encourage and sustain those who, in a non- 
partisan way, are fighting the saloon, the con- 
cert hall, the gambling den, and the brothel. 
There are almost innumerable ways in which 
we can help to purify the moral atmosphere 
of this beautiful country, but it can never be 
done by the Pickwickian method. 

Another duty of the Christian is to dem- 
onstrate by word and act the sanctity of the 
law. These are critical times in which we 
live. Lawlessness is increasing. The seeds of 
anarchy are finding favorable soil amongst a 
certain class of our people. The same spirit 
which moved the red-fisted Santo, when he 
struck down the president of the French 
republic, is lurking in our midst Many of 
our citizens are dissatisfied with the present 



150 Things New and Old. 



order of things, and are dreaming of some 
golden Utopia, some "fool's paradise/' which 
foreign demagogues have portrayed to them. 
They fancy that the only barrier between 
them and complete happiness is civil author- 
ity. And so their cry is, " Down with the 
law ! Down with the government ! Down 
with the police!" and we might add also, 
"Down with the beer!" These men want 
absolute equality, no one in authority, every 
one a law to himself. Such an economy 
would be impossible. Equality in the com- 
munistic sense of the word is out of the 
question. Nowhere, except among the lowest 
tribes of Africa or the far-off islands of the 
sea, where they have not civilization enough 
even to elect a chief, do you find such 
equality as that. There must be some one 
in authority. Take five men and put them 
into a boat, and set that boat adrift on the 
sea. There must be a captain among them. 
If there is not, they will soon be praying 
God to send one down. When two men ride 
a horse, the best should ride in front. And 
if one man rides in front, some one else 
must ride behind. There must be leaders, 



Good Citizenship. 1 3 1 

and there must be laws, or else there will 
be pandemonium. If an official is objection- 
able, he can be removed at the next election. 
If a law works injustice, it can be changed 
at the ballot box. But while laws are on 
the statute books they should be respected. 
If they are not, government and society will 
be impossible. 

It is time for Christian people to assert 
their patriotism and to oppose with vigor this 
spirit of lawlessness. Whatever cause there 
may be for anarchistic intrigues in monarchi- 
cal countries, there is none here where the 
people themselves are the sovereigns. To go 
from city to city, after the manner of Herr 
Most, and preach the gospel of riot and blood- 
shed to angry men is a great crime. We are 
entirely too lenient in our treatment of it. If 
a man incites one person to arson or murder 
he is sent to the penitentiary for a term of 
years, but if some loud-mouthed, beer-soaked 
scoundrel incites a multitude to the same 
crime he is unmolested. The reason for such 
discrimination we cannot quite comprehend. 
But since the government tolerates this anar- 
chistic propagandism. the only defense we have 



152 



Tilings New and Old. 



is to inaugurate an energetic " campaign of in- 
struction" against it. Ministers will do well 
to speak on the subject. No pulpit is too 
sacred and no day too holy for the discussion 
of so vital a question. To preach loyalty and 
submission to authority, is doing what Christ 
Himself did and cannot, therefore, be out of 
place in the sanctuary. It were profitable if 
the very walls of Zion would ring at times 
with unmistakable utterances on our communal 
relations. The theme is deserving of our most 
serious thought and our most burning elo- 
quence, Both in and out of the pulpit we 
should try to educate and stimulate the " civic 
sense " of the community. 

The fourth duty is a thoughtful consider- 
ation of the welfare of others. The Ameri- 
can spirit, the zeit-ge.ist, is that of avarice, 
an inordinate desire for gain. We are a 
materialistic, money-loving people. There is a 
great deal of truth in the remark, "When 
Germans meet they take beer, when French- 
men meet they take wine, when Scotchmen 
meet they take whisky ; but when Americans 
meet they take anything they can lay their 
hands on." There is here a burning thirst for 



Good Citizenship. 



*53 



gold which stifles sympathy, ignores justice, 
and tramples mercy under foot. The most 
fearful cruelty is practiced in the name of 
competition. Much of our business is stained 
with the red finger marks of Cain, who 
said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" For 
example, take the u sweat shops" of our 
large cities. They are the disgrace of our 
civilization. To compel women to make 
trousers for six cents a pair, in order to 
keep their children from starving, is inhuman. 
The man who does it is deserving of the tor- 
ments of hell. Yet ultimately w T e are to 
blame for it ; we who go around from store 
to store and "Jew" the merchants down; 
we who buy where we can get things for a 
half a cent less ; we who screw down the 
price though we know that every penny 
saved in this way is taken from the wages 
of those wretched women in the " sweat 
shops." It is, indeed, easier for a camel to 
pass through the eye of a needle — a real 
cambric needle — than for a man who gets 
rich by such means to enter the kingdom of 
heaven. There is more or less of this spirit 
of cruel egotism pervading our whole com- 



154 



Things New and Old. 



mercial system, and it is decidedly unchristian. 
It keeps well within the form of law, yet in 
essence it is unpatriotic and disloyal. There is 
still no better rule in business life than that 
promulgated by the Galilean carpenter over 
1800 years ago, " Whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you, do ye even so to them." 

The last, but not the least, duty we owe to 
the commonwealth, is a strong and persistent 
defense of the Sabbath. Not a little of our 
national greatness may be attributed to this 
benign institution. The French statesman, 
Montalembert, was quite logical when he said, 
" Without the Sabbath, no worship ; without 
worship, no religion." And we add with equal 
truthfulness, "Without religion, no political 
stability." The Sabbath, therefore, is an im- 
portant factor in our national life, and has had 
much to do with making this country what 
it is, the cynosure of the world. To permit 
it to be desecrated is to allow one of the 
strongest supports to be removed from the 
structure of our government. We can render 
no more profitable service to the state, than 
to engage in a vigorous opposition to the en- 
croachments made on this holy day. 



Good Citizenship, 



155 



It is not enough simply to talk of the hy- 
gienic phase of the question, and emphasize 
the need of a day of physical rest. We must 
insist on an enforcement of existing Sunday 
laws, in so far as they do not infringe on 
the rights of any American citizen. And, 
more than all, we must ourselves abstain from 
all unnecessary work, and from all pleasures 
and amusements that may make it necessary 
for others to work. We may have excellent 
laws respecting this holy day, and yet, if in 
one way or another, we ourselves desecrate its 
sanctity, these laws will soon become a dead 
letter. Our own personal example is the best 
defense of the Sabbath. And herein also lies 
its greatest danger. It is the doing of little 
things, or things that we consider little, that 
may gradually open the way for more serious 
offenses, harden the public conscience, and 
bring on universal desecration. It is our firm 
opinion that if this heaven-born institution is 
ever obliterated from our national life, it will 
be through the laxity of its nominal friends 
rather than the opposition of its avowed ene- 
mies. There is no more important duty of 
the American citizen to the commonwealth, 



1 5 6 



Things New and Old. 



than a vigilant censorship over his own con- 
duct as it pertains to the Sabbath. 

In a general way, the test of America's 
greatness is its obedience to the moral law. 
There is only one standard by which to judge 
of its future prospect, and that is its relation 
to God. If it knows God and keeps his com- 
mandments, it will be great. If it forgets God 
and tramples upon his commandments, it will 
sooner or later perish and become a byword 
with men. Tell me, therefore, what will be 
our country's relation to God fifty years hence, 
and I will tell what will be its condition. All 
history justifies the adoption of this criterion. 
France, in the pride of its wisdom, sowed the 
wind of atheism and reaped the whirlwind of 
an awful revolution. Spain and Mexico drifted 
into a lifeless Catholicism, and are suffering 
the penalty in the densest of ignorance and 
superstition. A like experience awaits this na- 
tion in case it departs from its traditional 
righteousness and forgets its God. " Sin is a 
reproach to any people," but " blessed is the 
nation whose God is the Lord." 



"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be 
come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap 
the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the 
first fruits of your harvest unto the priest : 

"And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be 
accepted for you : on the morrow after the Sabbath the 
priest shall wave it." — Leviticus XXIII : 9-1 1. 



VIII. 



THANKSGIVING SERMON. 

It was once a quite general custom to 
thank God for his goodness before sitting 
down to meat. It has now become somewhat 
rare. Only in a few pious families does it 
still prevail. Many professing Christians offer 
no prayer at the table. They partake of the 
bounties of life very much as do the dumb 
cattle — unmindful of Him who is the giver of 
all good. For ten, twenty, and thirty years 
they regularly surround the family board, so 
richly spread by the beneficent hand of God, 
without the slightest sense of gratitude to 
him. Yet how beautiful and edifying it is to 
see a father uncover his head in the presence 
of his children and give thanks to the Al- 
mighty for his kind remembrance. 

Beautiful as it is to express gratitude at 
the table, it is still more so for a whole 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 



159 



congregation to assemble in the sanctuary and 
" praise the Lord for his goodness and for 
his wonderful works to the children of men." 
Is there a sublimer spectacle than that of a 
devout Christian audience lifting up their 
hearts and their voices in grateful recognition 
of Him who is the " giver of every good and 
perfect gift," offering prayer and song and 
devotion to their creator, preserver and bount- 
iful benefactor? 

The custom of public thanksgiving at a 
stated season of the year is of very ancient 
origin, dating back to the beginning of the 
Mosaic economy itself. Just before the Israel- 
ites entered the promised land God instituted 
for them a cycle of religious festivals. Among 
them was the feast of tabernacles, during 
which the people left their usual abodes and 
dwelt in tents made of the boughs of goodly 
trees and of palm branches, and rejoiced seven 
days before the Lord, bringing him sacrifices 
of burnt offerings, of rams and of bullocks. 
Another one of these festivals, and the one 
that we have chosen as the groundwork of 
our remarks, was that of harvests, when the 
people, as they reaped the crops, were required 



160 Tilings New and Old. 

to bring a sheaf of the first fruits to the 
priest, who was to wave the sheaf before the 
Lord as an acceptable offering, a thankful ac- 
knowledgment of God's blessing upon the 
fruits of the field. 

This was a just and commendable custom, 
and ought never to be abandoned. His people 
away down in these distant ages, here in this 
great republic of the West, still celebrate a 
similar occasion with gladsome hearts ; and 
they have equal if not greater reason to do 
so than had the Israelites. The soil of this, 
our country, is more fertile than was that of 
Palestine in its palmiest days. More cereals 
are raised to the acre here than were ever 
gathered from old Judea's hills. The golden 
grain that each summer waves upon our 
plains, from the Atlantic to the Pacific slope, 
is so abundant as to exceed the product of 
that land that flowed with milk and honey. 
The quantity of wheat stored in the great 
elevators of our western cities dwarfs into 
insignificance the well-filled garners of . old 
Canaan. Our exports by rail and by water 
are greater far than what the smoking camels 
of Egypt ,ever carried from the promised land. 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 161 



This year, also, the harvest has been plenti- 
ful. It is true, some, comparing it with former 
years, have been pleased to call it a failure. 
But this it has not been. Though the crops 
of this autumn have been somewhat less than 
the average, yet they have been very good. 
There is enough, and more than enough, to 
sustain comfortably the population of our coun- 
try. After we_ have all been satisfied, there 
will still remain a surplus which can be sent to 
our less fortunate brothers beyond the seas. 
So rapid is the accumulation of grain in the 
great markets, that their reservoirs, mountain 
high, are filled, and it is almost impossible 
to secure sufficient means for transportation. 
Thousands of steam cars are in the service, 
and, groaning under their heavy burden, roll 
to the eastern seaboard. Yet even they do not 
meet the demands made upon them. The 
Lord of the harvest has been gracious to us 
this year also. And since he has thus gener- 
ously dealt with us, it is right that we should 
make a return. But what can we give him 
that he has not first given us ? What can 
we offer that is not his own ? If we bring 

gold out of the bowels of the earth, we can 
11 



Tilings New and Old. 



do so only because God placed it there. If 
we bring the treasures of the deep, it looks 
penurious, for he holds the ocean in the hol- 
low of his hand. If we come with a meat- 
offering, we hear him say, " The fruit of the 
fields, the cattle on a thousand hills are mine." 
We can present him only of that which he has 
presented to us ; and to do this is but our 
reasonable duty. He has permitted us to 
gather hundreds and thousands of sheaves from 
his soil, and asks us to return only a few of 
them. What some of these are, I will endeavor 
to indicate. 

Under the Mosaic economy, God demanded 
material substance as a sacrifice. The people 
were required to consecrate the first and the 
best fruits of the land to his honor and glory. 
The sacrifices of the new covenant, however, 
are more spiritual, and its offerings of a higher 
order. 

I. The first " sheaf " we are to bring unto the 
Lord is that of sincere humility. The human 
heart is inclined to be proud. Man is apt to 
appropriate to himself honor which belongs to 
God alone, and to regard himself as an im- 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 



163 



portant factor, if not the principal factor, in 
the universe. And he is, indeed, a wonderful 
being. His reason, intellectual faculties, and 
social instincts place him at the head of ma- 
terial creation. By means of his natural inge- 
nuity and ceaseless application, he has accom- 
plished great things. His achievements seem 
to border closely on the miraculous. What 
his ancestors regarded as chimerical and utterly 
impossible he has made a reality. The ele- 
ments which once seemed wild and ungovern- 
able have succumbed to his shrewd manipula- 
tions. Substances, apparently useless, have 
yielded to his plastic hand and become inval- 
uable. The dense forest has fallen beneath 
his sturdy blows, and made room for the pal- 
ace, the storehouse and the workshop. The 
sea which raved and foamed at the race, he 
has made the pathway of commerce. The 
thundercloud that lazily hovered over the 
mountain, he has caused to come down and 
enter his service. Its electricity carries his 
messages to the ends of the earth, almost as 
speedily as thought itself. That which ap- 
peared to be allied with darkness he has made 
the best means of illumination. Fire and 



164 Things New and Old. 

water, apparently opposite, he has brought to- 
gether. They have clasped hands and become 
a tremendous power. Through their united 
agency wheels revolve, and spindles rattle, and 
rail trains move, and the steamship comes puf- 
fing and panting across the deep. He has 
completely revolutionized the condition of mun- 
dane affairs, and has accomplished so much 
that he stands amazed at his own handiwork. 
But in the glamour of success he fails to rec- 
ognize the real author of it all. Seldom does 
he give God the glory for these triumphs, but 
ascribes them to his own genius and skill. 
He boasts of that which another has taught him 
to do, and given him the material and strength 
with which to do it. He loves to hear ap- 
plause bestowed on himself, when, in truth, 
the credit lies with some one else. 

" Of all the wonders which the eventful life 
Of man presents ; of all the raging fires 
Of curious appetites and mad desires — 
Not one so strange appears as this alone, 
That man is proud of what is not his own." 

Great improvements have been made in 
agriculture. Go out into the country and visit 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 



165 



the husbandman, and you will see a great 
change in his plans and methods. New im- 
plements have been invented and new ma- 
chinery devised, for plowing and sowing and 
reaping and threshing. What once was irk- 
some and tedious has become comparatively 
easy to perform. Remarkable progress has 
been made in the art of soil culture. This is 
not to be regretted or discouraged, but rather 
does it give reason for rejoicing. Yet of what 
avail is it all without a propitious heaven, 
without the favoring elements ? Could we 
reap the golden grain if all depended upon 
us — if, as some say, there be no God, and 
the voice of prayer but strike a brazen vault 
above ? We may plow and harrow after the 
most improved directions, but we cannot pro- 
tect the ground from destructive vermin, from 
flood or drought. We may sow the seed, but 
rain and sunshine are not ours to bestow. 
We may cut the wheat and shock it, but we 
are not certain that it will be garnered. We 
may stow God's blessings away in our gran- 
aries, but we cannot protect them from 
lightning, from conflagration and from the 
schemes of ill-disposed persons. Not until the 



Things New and Old. 



substance is brought to our very doors for 
consumption are we sure that it is ours. 

Verily, this fact should induce us to be 
modest and to acknowledge that the harvest 
is, after all, not the result of our wisdom 
and labor, but of God's. There is a different 
law in the realm of nature from what there 
is in the realm of the spiritual. In the lat- 
ter sphere " whatsoever a man sows that also 
shall he reap." " He that soweth to the 
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, he 
that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit 
reap life everlasting " " Sure, ah, sure shall 
the harvest be." Good seed is certain to pro- 
duce good fruit. In nature it is otherwise. 
Though we sow the very finest quality of 
grain the yield may be a failure. There is 
another factor essential to success here. We 
may plant and cultivate and water, but God 
must give the increase. If he were to with- 
hold his blessing we would come to ruin in 
spite of all our skill and industry. If for a 
time his mighty hand should cease to bring 
favorable elements, hunger would come upon 
us and the angel of famine would cast the 
shadow of his sable wing over the nation. 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 167 



The strongest, wisest and greatest would 
dwindle to skeletons. We w r ould become pale 
and hollow-eyed as an army of ghosts. En- 
feebled by starvation we would reel to and 
fro like drunken men and then sink into the 
dust. Instead of exultation there would be 
lamentation, and that most pitiful, most awful 
cry, " Bread ! Bread !" Oh, why should the 
spirit of mortal be proud ? Without God we 
could do nothing, but would die and return 
to the earth from which we were taken, 

Solomon has pointedly said, " He that trust- 
eth in himself is a fool/' And truly, man 
does appear ridiculous when he exalts him- 
self and ignores the guiding, sustaining power 
of God. It was the petty chief of an insig- 
nificant Indian tribe, w T ho used to come out 
of his hut every morning, bid the sun wel- 
come, and then point out to him with his 
finger the course he w r as to take for the day. 
This was unbounded arrogance on the part 
of the red man ; but is it any greater than 
that of the white man who would run the 
world independent of God or dictate to him 
the course of his providence ? It is a false 
conception which says there is no need of 



Things New and Old. 



looking heavenward, that man can prosper 
without the divine favor. " By humility and 
the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, 
and life." 

II. The second "sheaf" we should bring 
the Lord is that of gratitude. As our de- 
pendence upon God naturally produces humil- 
ity, so does it also produce thankfulness. 
This is a duty all men should perform, but 
which very many neglect. And the cause of 
this negligence is the fact that men no more 
ascribe all the good to God but to them- 
selves. The farmer cuts the grain with a 
feeling of self-complacency. He counts the 
sheaves and shocks and bushels with a smile 
of satisfaction. He stores them away with a 
glad heart, but seldom asks, " Whence do 
they come? To whom am I indebted for 
them?" To credit them to their proper 
source, and to give praise where praise be- 
longs he finds a difficult requirement. To 
the Christian this is a pleasant duty, and it 
should be to every recipient of heaven's 
blessings. 

At this appointed time we certainly have 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 



169 



reason to be grateful — the townsman as well 
as the farmer. God has blessed our fields and 
has done it generously. And this blessing is 
not for the benefit of the farmer alone, for the 
products of the soil contribute to the wel- 
fare of all. Our condition in the city is reg- 
ulated by the harvests garnered in the coun- 
try. Of what avail would be our wealth, 
of what service our money, if we could not 
procure in return for it the necessaries of 
life ? The harvest is God's gift to all his 
children without respect of person — the capi- 
talist and the laborer, the millionaire and the 
cottager. 

Nor is this our only cause for thanksgiving. 
There are a thousand others. When we have 
learned to count the" sand upon the seashore, 
and to name the stars of the sky, we may 
attempt to mention all the benefits we have 
received. As individuals we have been showered 
with favors, though many do not realize it. 
Our being here this morning is in itself cause 
for gratitude. Since last we assembled by oc- 
casion of this national festival, at least five 
million of our fellow-men have gone into the 
other world, some of them prepared, and others, 



170 



T Jungs New and Old. 



alas, unprepared to face its realities. We are 
still beneath the skies, with time and oppor- 
tunity at our disposal. Our homes, with the 
sweet influences that cluster around them, we 
owe to God. The beauties and glories of na- 
ture are all his handiwork. The rising and 
the setting sun, the soft verdure that cushions 
the earth, the clouds that curtain the sky, and 
all the bracing, healthful breezes that sweep 
over us are sent by him. Greater yet than 
these are the religious favors he has conferred 
upon us — the communion of saints, the house 
of prayer, the open Bible, the hope of heaven. 
With a copious hand does he shower spiritual 
blessings upon us unceasingly. We can count 
the hours of the day, and the days of the 
year; but God's mercies to us are innumerable. 
Deo gratias should be our cry to-day as we 
contemplate the divine goodness manifested to 
us personally throughout the year. 

As a nation, God has continued to deal gra- 
ciously with us, even as he has not with any 
other. This I say, remembering well the finan- 
cial difficulties, the shadows of which are still 
lingering over us. We are but little more 
than a hundred years old, yet are already 



Thanksgiving Sermon, iyi 



equal in wealth and power to any of the older 
nations of the earth. Unless all signs deceive 
God is laying here the foundation for the 
mightiest people the world has ever known. 
There is to be here a wonderful composition 
of racial traits. The best of the English, the 
German, the French, the Scandinavian, and the 
Scotch character will be amalgamated to pro- 
duce the type of a nation such as has never 
been known. Bearing this in mind, the finan- 
cial reverses of the past year may be put 
down as a national blessing in that they seem 
to be sifting out some of the less desirable 
elements of our foreign immigration. The At- 
lantic liners are crowded with the lower, unedu- 
cated and unprincipled classes driven from our 
shores by the present commercial disturbances. 
In this way some of the infirmities of this com- 
posite race are being removed, and our na- 
tional life will be the stronger and the better 
for it. 

There have been strikes and boycotts, and 
serious agitation of the labor question, and 
some of our people have stood aghast at what 
seemed to be the ominous rumble of a threat- 
ening revolution. Yet even this social turmoil 



172 Things New and Old. 

has had its good effect in that it has aroused 
us to a sense of justice to the unemployed, and 
has served to demonstrate that the American 
people are patriotic, and, though eminently in 
favor of fair play, will tolerate no lawlessness, 
or incendiarism. The ultimate result of these 
painful clashings will be the finding of a bet- 
ter relation of man to man, of employer to 
employe. They are a part of our national dis- 
cipline, and will help to strengthen our na- 
tional life. The poet Goethe said that he 
never had a trial that he could not turn into a 
poem, and I am sure that if we are true to our 
traditional spirit, the clangor and discord we 
have heard during the past year will be 
changed into music in the near future. 

Having the utmost confidence that our coun- 
try is destined to play an important role in 
the history of nations, or, as Matthew Arnold 
has said, that "America holds the future of the 
world,'' we look even upon the dark and stern 
experiences of recent times as the servants of 
him who is fashioning the nation into that 
image he meant it should bear. The adversi- 
ties and hardships we have passed through 
will form the materials for a truer and better 



Thanksgiving Sermon. 173 



national life, and the trials we are now 
enduring will mean greater blessings for the 
future. Our abiding faith in the wisdom and 
goodness of God ought to make us grateful, 
even after the disappointments and troubles 
of the year. 

III. The third " sheaf" we should return 
unto the Lord is that of benevolence, But 
how can we do this ? We can give him 
nothing, for all is his own, and he is not in 
need of anything that we can present. He is 
not an object of charity, nor would anything 
that w r e can bestow be of service to him. He 
points us, however, to his children, our breth- 
ren, and says, " Inasmuch as ye do it unto 
the least of these, ye do it unto me." " Who- 
soever shall give to drink unto one of these 
little ones a cup of water only, he shall in 
no wise lose his reward." He commends unto 
us his needy people, " the poor whom we 
have with us always." We cannot here dis- 
cuss the causes of poverty, but we know 
that the presence of the poor affords oppor- 
tunity for benevolence. In this way they are 
a blessing to us. If it w f ere not for them 



174 



Things New and Old. 



our hearts would long ago have become 
hard as rocks. Without exercising benevo- 
lence the springs of benevolence would soon 
dry up. To remove all poverty would be to 
remove every opportunity to be kind, and 
thus to seal the fountain of our charity. 
But aside from this reason the Lord expects 
us to be benign to the needy. As a distin- 
gished writer says, " The poor man is, as it 
were, an altar; if we bring our alms and lay 
them upon it, with such sacrifices God will 
be pleased." Indeed the material blessings 
we have received from heaven put us under 
moral obligation to minister unto those who 
are less favorably situated. " Charge them 
that are rich in the world that they do good, 
that they be rich in good works, ready to 
distribute, willing to communicate." The true 
Christian, even though he be not rich in the 
accepted meaning of that word, regards what- 
ever earthly possessions he has as simply en- 
trusted to his care, and uses them in a gen- 
erous and charitable manner. He tries to 
observe the apostle's injunction, " Look not 
every man on his own things, but every man 
also on the things of others." The best be- 



Thanksgiving Sermon, 



i7S 



loved and most honored of God's children 
have ever been those who have lived unself- 
ishly and have dispensed their gifts with a 
liberal hand. I think now of John Howard, 
the English philanthropist, who devoted him- 
self and his substance to prison reform. 
There was scarcely a prison of any impor- 
tance on the continent of Europe which did 
not receive his attention. Having spent a 
fortune in this form of charity, he died at 
last plague-smitten in a distant land. His final 
request was that he be buried in some se- 
cluded spot, that a sun-dial be placed over 
his grave and he be forgotten. But will he 
be forgotten ? Not while the earth stands. 

I think of George Peabody, the American 
merchant, and his magnificent philanthropy, the 
Peabody educational fund much of w T hich was 
used for the promotion of " intellectual, moral 
or industrial education in the most destitute 
portions of the southern states/' 

I think of Peter Cooper, who established 
Cooper Institute ; of Thomas Guy and his 
London Hospital ; of Enoch Pratt and his mag- 
nificent Public Library at Baltimore. These 
and scores of others have pleased God and 



176 



Things New and Old. 



enshrined themselves in the memories of men 
by giving their means for the welfare of 
others. Yet let us not suppose that only they 
who are rich are expected to be generous, all 
can and should be benevolent according to 
their means. There is no better way by 
which to express appreciation of the divine 
goodness than by ministering to the poor. 
This ought indeed be the largest " sheaf 99 
which we bring to the Lord in return for his 
blessings to us. 



" On earth peace. " — Luke II : 14. 



12 



IX. 



ON EARTH PEACE. 

One thing that impresses the visitor to 
European countries is the military character 
of the people, and the enormous standing ar- 
mies they maintain. It is almost impossible 
to look in any direction without seeing the 
gleam of the bayonet, or hearing the tramp 
of soldiers. About every fourth man is in a 
uniform of some kind. * Germany maintains a 
standing army of 460,000 men, with a reserve 
of at least five times as many, and is capable 
of putting into the field on a day's notice 
3,000,000 able-bodied soldiers. France claims 
to have even more than that. Italy has over 
300,000, and Austria about the same. These 
soldiers are equipped w T ith the most effective 
and deadly weapons that human ingenuity 
can invent. For three long years they reside 
in the barracks under the training of skilled 
(178) 



On Earth Peace, 



i/9 



masters, and are drilled almost to perfection, 
in the cruel art of warfare. 

We stood on two successive summer morn- 
ings on the parade ground at Kassel, watch- 
ing the movements of two regiments of cav- 
alry — 1,250 men each. These men were 
mounted on splendid horses and equipped 
with an almost faultless outfit. So thoroughly 
were they trained that they went through 
their various evolutions with the precision of 
clockwork. The horses seemed to understand 
the signals as well as the men, and held their 
places in the ranks like human beings. And 
as the two regiments engaged in sham bat- 
tle, and rushed down upon each other with 
the speed of the wind, the very ground 
trembled beneath their feet, and we shuddered 
at the thought of what terrible execution 
they could do if engaged in real combat. 
Yet this was only a little handful, compara- 
tively speaking. Imagine the millions of men 
which the nations of Europe have been train- 
ing as soldiers — the infantry, the cavalry, the 
artillery — rushing at each other with sword 
and lance, repeating rifle and belching cannon, 
and all the murderous instruments of modern 



i So 



Things New and Old. 



warfare. Imagine the deep-studied plans and 
stratagems of 14 gray and grizzled " generals, 
the sharp maneuvering and deployment of the 
troops, the application of the highest wisdom 
of military science on either side — imagine 
this, and you shudder at what would be the 
result. Any previous struggle would be mere 
child's play compared with it. Even the 
leaders of the various armies themselves shrink 
back from the dreadful consequences of a war 
under present circumstances. Yet such is the 
situation over there that it may break out at 
any time. The most trifling thing may pre- 
cipitate the conflict. Some diplomatic blunder, 
some real or apparent insult to a passionate 
ruler, may convert Europe into a field of car- 
nage, and bring untold misery upon the 
people. 

In view of this, how about that Christmas 
carol of the angels at the time of the na- 
tivity ? Was it not prophetic ? And if it 
was, how about the 44 Peace on earth?" Is 
the sweet and bloodless reign of Christ 
approaching, or were the celestial visitors 
merely warbling some poetic fancy ? As a 
matter of fact, discord and strife are still with 



On Earth Peace. 



181 



us. The swords have not been turned into 
plowshares or the spears been beaten into 
pruning hooks. The gates of Janus are yet 
open at times, and grim-visaged war still 
frowns upon the nations. At this very hour two 
neighboring Oriental countries are grappling 
with each other in deadly combat, and streams 
of human blood are moistening the soil of 
distant Asia. The angel of peace does not 
yet wave his olive branch over us. This much 
is indisputable. 

Yet, in spite of this, we contend for the 
prophecy of the angels, and maintain that 
there are unmistakable evidences pointing to 
its gradual fulfillment. The very perfection of 
the science of warfare in these days is a mer- 
ciful improvement over the ancient, crude, bar- 
baric, hand-to-hand combat. A conflict now 
must be short, sharp, and decisive. On ac- 
count of the large number of men engaged, 
and the heavy burden of their support in the 
field, a protracted struggle would be almost 
impossible. One side or the other would have 
to succumb in a short time, and the distress 
and tension of the struggle would soon be 
over. The long range instruments of warfare 



Things New and Old. 



would also tend to hasten the decision of 
the battle, and in the end effect a compara- 
tively smaller loss of men than a protracted 
combat at short range with sword and spear 
and bludgeon. 

Besides it is no longer true that 

"All things are fair 
In love and war," 

especially not in the latter. There are laws 
governing the nations at contention with each 
other, and prohibiting the practice of the bar- 
baric cruelties of .the olden times. Noncom- 
batants, whether men, women, or children, are 
protected in their person, and even in their 
property, except so far as the absolute neces- 
sities of war demand its confiscation. Battles 
may still be bloody and terrific, yet there is a 
humane spirit abroad which makes impossible 
anything like the savagery of bygone days. 
Prisoners of war are no longer slaughtered 
like sheep, or tortured by cruel and protracted 
mutilations. The wounded are not left to die 
unthought of and uncared for on the field 
where they have fallen, but receive prompt and 
affectionate attention by skillful surgeons and 
tender nurses. A well-organized hospital corps 



On Earth Peace, 



183 



follow in the wake of either army, and like 
angels of mercy visit the suffering heroes in 
their distress. 

The settlement of international disputes by 
arbitration is also becoming more and more 
popular. The irenical spirit of the Christian 
religion is making itself felt in this direction. 
Many a destructive war has been avoided by 
submitting to an impartial and extemporized 
court the questions which could not be dis- 
posed of in the usual diplomatic way. The 
United States especially has spoken strong 
words for this method of adjusting inter- 
national difficulties. Both presidents Grant and 
Garfield declared themselves ready to " par- 
ticipate in any measure that will tend to 
guarantee ' peace on earth/ " And Congress has, 
on one or two occasions, expressed itself in 
favor of substituting an arbitration tribunal 
instead of war, and has made overtures to 
other nations with this in view. In several 
instances our country has given practical dem- 
onstration of its sincerity in this matter by 
settling controversies with other countries by 
arbitration. We think of the dispute with 
Peru in 1863, and with Mexico in 1868; with 



184 Things New and Old. 



Great Britain about the Alabama incident 
during our civil war, when the mother coun- 
try healed the wound which she had made 
by covering it with a $15,000,000 bill; and 
more recently with Great Britain again over 
the Behring Sea differences. Our nation is 
distinctively a peaceful one, and its use of 
arbitration is having a wholesome influence 
upon the other nations of the globe. States 
and rulers now consider well before they re- 
sort to the dread arbitrament of arms. Fene- 
lon uttered true words, and words that must 
eventually receive universal indorsement, when 
he said, " as the people of each state ought 
to be subject to the laws of their country, 
although those laws may sometimes conflict 
with their particular interest, so each separate 
nation ought to respect the laws of the civil- 
ized world, which are those of nature and 
of nations, to the prejudice even of its own 
interest and aggrandizement. It is not law- 
ful for one to save himself by the ruin of 
his family, nor to aggrandize his family to 
the injury of his country, nor to seek the 
glory of his country by violating the rights 
of humanity." 



On Earth Peace. 



185 



It is easy to see a decided improvement in 
the matter of international relations, and the 
outlook is favorable for a continuance. The 
golden age of the world is not back of us, 
but before us. In a few decades great changes 
will come, and he that lives then will see 
why the angels sang of peace and good will. 
The day is approaching when bloody Mars, 
the god of war, will be driven from the earth, 
and the demon of carnage will be seen no 
more. Our eyes behold the first streaks of the 
coming aurora, and our children will probably 
live in the full sunlight of the day which we 
so fondly, but perhaps vainly, anticipate. We 
have full confidence in the coming of Christ's 
kingdom, and in the mild and peaceful sway of 
his scepter. That marvelous event of eighteen 
hundred years ago was not a farce. 

When the gates of heaven opened, and 
the angels brought down that little child 
on whose brow was written " Prince of 
Peace," there was quietly planted in the 
soil of this earth the little seed that is 
destined to grow into the great tree of 
peace, under the shadow of whose branches 
the nations shall find rest. 



"And he said to them all, If any man will come after 
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and 
follow me. 

" For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but who- 
soever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 

"For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole 
world and lose himself or be castaway?" 

" For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, 
of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall 
come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the 
holy angels." — Luke IX : 23-26. 



X. 



THE TRUE TEACHER. 

We shall speak briefly this evening of Christ 
as a teacher. We have at other times spoken 
of his oratory, of the torrents of eloquence 
which rolled from his lips when he touched on 
some theme of high importance, or the soft 
and soothing words he uttered when he ad- 
dressed the needy and unfortunate. We have 
spoken of his intellectual and literary powers 
by reason of which there dropped spontane- 
ously from his lips the most beautiful gems of 
thought incased in the finest of language, lan- 
guage which even the most classical student 
could not improve upon after years of study. 
We have spoken of his personal magnetism 
and how, by his amiable nature and attractive 
personality, as well as by the witchery of his 
words, he held people spell-bound. We have 

spoken of his simplicity, how he came down 

(187) 



188 



Things New and Old. 



to the level of the common people and used 
language easily understood by them ; how he 
employed the everyday things, with which they 
were familiar, to illustrate spiritual truths ; how 
he spoke to farmers about soil culture, and 
to fishermen about fishes, and to women 
about affairs pertaining to the household. We 
have often referred also to the subject-matter 
of his sermons and how he startled his hearers 
with his new doctrines and strange paradoxes. 
We have seen how " the common people heard 
him gladly 99 and came from far and near to 
listen to his peerless preaching. 

It is our purpose to speak at this time not 
so much of his matter or manner as of his 
motive and theory of life. This is a very im- 
portant quality in a public teacher, and one, 
too, that has always been greatly overlooked. 
When we think of employing a teacher, the 
question always is: " What are his talents? 
What does he know? What control does he 
have over those who are placed under his tu- 
telage ? Our inquiry nearly always is concern- 
ing his technical attainments — concerning those 
qualities that pertain merely to the external. 
Seldom is the examination pushed beyond the 



The True Teacher. 189 



surface to learn what there is back of these 
outward accomplishments — to ascertain what are 
his incentives in the responsible calling to 
which he has devoted himself. Yet it is of 
the greatest moment to know what a teacher 
has in view, and what is the aim and scope 
of his teaching. Does he have reference to 
the mind only, with a little byplay of physi- 
cal culture, or does he take into account the 
soul also? Does he believe that this world, 
with its material limitations, bounds the entire 
career of man ? Does he think that this life, 
w T ith its narrow walls of time and sense, com- 
prises all that there is of the human career ? 
Is he a materialist, or does he believe that 
there is a higher sphere, and consequently a 
higher scope for his labors? That these funda- 
mental ideas are important can hardly be ques- 
tioned ; that they will have a decided effect 
upon the teacher and his teachings is evident. 
No materialist is qualified to give the sort of 
instruction that makes a true and lofty 
citizenship. No teacher who believes in the 
" philosophy of dust," a philosophy which says 
that " man is made of dust, that he eats dust, 
that he walks around awhile in the dust, and 



190 



Things New and Old. 



then sinks into the dust/" can rise very high. 
No master whose range of view does not reach 
beyond the clouds, can give to his disciples 
the kind of doctrine suited to men who are 
immortal spirits. 

The ideas of Christ, the great teacher, dif- 
fered widely from those of the materialist. 
He believed that man has both soul and body 
and that the soul is immortal. He taught the 
very reasonable thing that the personal spirit 
in man, which dominates so strikingly over 
natural and physical forces, is more enduring 
than those forces, and that we stand in rela- 
tion to a sphere higher and wider than the 
earthly. H£ said to the thief on the cross, 
" To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise;" 
and to his disciples he declared, " I go to pre- 
pare a place for you, that where I am there 
ye may be also." He looked upon this 
world as preparatory to another, as a place of 
character-building which determines the destiny 
of man in the hereafter. Accordingly, his 
teachings comprehended in their scope both 
the earthly and the celestial life, and he fre- 
quently warned against an undue exaltation of 
the earthly. His theory made little of tern- 



The True Teacher. 



191 



poral treasures except as they might be used 
to enhance the interests of the spirit. He 
said significantly : "What does it profit a man, 
though he gain the whole world and lose his 
own soul, or what can a man give in ex- 
change for his soul ?" " Labor not for the 
meat which perisheth, but for that meat which 
endureth unto everlasting life." " If any man 
will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross daily, and follow me." He 
meant to tell his disciples that there are 
things more valuable than gold and silver, 
and houses and lands, and that they should 
be careful not to exchange the superior for 
the inferior. His special aim seemed to be to 
impress on men the relative importance of 
things temporal and spiritual, and to warn 
against carnal views and sordid purposes. His 
very presence here as a " teacher sent from 
God" implied a heaven high aim and scope 
for his teaching, and it was this element 
in his doctrine w T hich made him what he 
was, the world's best and most influential 
prophet. 

It is easy to discern from all this what a 
true teacher or preacher ought to be. 



192 



Tilings New and Old. 



I. He ought, first of all, to have a heart 
that stands in a right relation to earthly things 
— not their servant but their master. He dare 
not be a time server or a mammon worship- 
per. He must not feel that these baubles of 
the dust with which he comes in contact are 
the only treasures, that the things we see and 
handle are the only real things. If he is a 
lover of the carnal world it will be impossi- 
ble for him to proclaim the truth in a fear- 
less and straightforward manner. His thinking 
will be biased and his speech muzzled by the 
influence of money. He will not care to jeop- 
ardize his own temporal income by saying 
that which might be offensive to those who 
support him. His utterances will not have the 
true ring of the divinely sent and divinely 
sustained messenger. 

It is undoubtedly true that the more thor- 
oughly a man believes in the eternal world the 
more independent he can be of this world, and 
the more courageous he will be in antagoniz- 
ing falsehood and wickedness. He need not 
then withhold anything from fear of what man 
may do. He can then utter what he knows 
to be the truth without modification or reser- 



The Trtie Teacher. 



193 



vation. This, we believe, was the mainspring 
of much of the heroic action in the history 
of the church. For this cause many of our 
spiritual ancestors were so brave and defiant 
of the evil. Believing as they did in a 
brighter world beyond the grave, they were 
willing to sacrifice their prospects here on 
earth. According to the Savior's advice they 
had no dread of those who could destroy the 
body only, but stood firmly for the truth at 
the risk of losing everything here below. 
Worldly emolument and social preferment were 
motives they totally ignored. 

I think just now of Latimer, the Protestant 
bishop of England, and his brave conduct to- 
ward the unscrupulous Henry VIII. While in 
favor with the court he wrote a letter of re- 
monstrance to Henry for prohibiting the use 
of the English Bible, and even presented him 
for a New Year's gift, instead of a purse, as 
was usual, a New Testament with the leaf 
turned down to this passage, "Whoremongers 
and adulterers God will judge." On another oc- 
casion he preached a sermon which greatly dis- 
pleased his majesty, and was ordered to preach 

again the next Sabbath and to make an apol- 
13 



194 



Tilings New and Old, 



ogy. After reading the text he thus began, 
" Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom 
thou art this day to speak? To the King's 
most excellent majesty, who can take away 
thy life if thou offendest : therefore, take heed 
that thou speakest not a word that may dis- 
please ; but then consider well, Hugh, dost 
thou not know from whence thou comest and 
upon whose message thou art sent ? Even 
by the great and mighty God, who is all 
present, and who is able to cast thy soul 
into hell. " He then proceeded to preach the 
same sermon with more emphasis and energy 
than before. 

I think of Luther and his brave words at the 
Diet of Worms. All the temporal princes and 
ecclesiastical dignitaries were against him. He was 
cautioned against going there, and particularly 
warned of the radical and vindictive Duke George. 
But his answer to these warnings was, " If 
it rains Duke Georges for nine days I will 
go." In the presence of an immense concourse 
of spectators, including many of the nobles of 
the realm, he was called upon to recant. In 
response, however, he boldly defended his doc- 
trines, and made that memorable declaration, 



The True Teacher. 



195 



" Unless I shall be refuted and convinced by 
testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, or by pub- 
lic, clear, and evident arguments, I cannot and 
will not retract anything, since I believe neither 
the pope nor the councils alone, both of them 
having evidently often erred and contradicted 
themselves, and since it is neither safe nor 
advisable to do anything against the conscience. 
Here I stand, I cannot otherwise. God help 
me. Amen." 

I think of Dr. Harris, minister of Hanwell, 
England, and how he rebuked sin while look- 
ing into the muzzle of a loaded carbine. As 
was the custom then, he frequently had mil- 
itary officers quartered at his house. A party 
of them indulged much in swearing. The 
doctor noticed this, and on the following 
Sabbath preached from these words, "Above 
all things, my brethren, swear not/' This so 
enraged the soldiers, who judged the sermon 
was intended for them, that they swore they 
would shoot him if he preached on the sub- 
ject again. He was not to be intimidated, 
however, and on the following Sabbath 
preached from the same text, and inveighed 
in still stronger terms against the vice of 



196 



Things New and Old, 



profanity. As he was preaching, a soldier 
leveled his carbine at him, but he went on 
to the conclusion without the slightest 
hesitation. 

As I think of these men and hundreds of 
others, I feel greatly humiliated. Their intrep- 
id conduct rebukes me. I lack their courage 
possibly because I lack their consecration. I 
wish I were like them. St. Paul says, " Crave 
earnestly the best things," and I could wish 
that the power of the invisible would so 
dominate me as to remove all carnal timidity 
and make me brave as the sainted champions 
of truth once were. When I remember Paul 
and his long and eventful campaign crowned 
with a cruel martyrdom ; when I think of 
Huss and Wycliffe and Savonarola, who 
walked through the flames to testify to the 
truth ; when I think of the many self-effacing 
missionaries who have gone to heathen lands, 
who have cut loose from home and friends 
and all the amenities of civilized life, I must 
bow the head in lowliest humility, and con- 
fess that I have not yet resisted unto blood. 
I hope some time to enter heaven by the 
grace of God, and when I get there it seems 



The True Teacher. 



197 



to me that it will be embarrassing to meet 
some of these noble, self-sacrificing ministers 
of the gospel, who have served so valiantly 
and yielded so much of this world's pros- 
pects for the sake of the testimony of the 
truth. 

II. A true teacher should be broad in his 
views and sympathies. This Christ was. He 
was a Jew by birth and education, but a cos- 
mopolitan in spirit. The blood of Abraham 
coursed in his veins, yet he was an all 
world's citizen. There was not the slightest 
trace of bigotry or narrowness about him. 
Unfettered by the bitterness of sect, or the 
selfishness of tribe and race, he loved all men. 
The scope of his teaching included all of 
human kind. Although " beginning at Jeru- 
salem," his disciples were to " go into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature." On account of their traditional 
sectarianism, however, they were slow to 
apprehend his catholic spirit, and his all- 
comprehensive aim. To rebuke their intense 
nationalism he told the parable of the Good 
Samaritan, a parable in which the hero is 



Things New and Old, 



not a Jewish priest or a Levite, but one of 
that race which they hated with all their 
hearts. To understand the full significance of 
that story, we must bear well in mind the 
extreme animosity between those two races 
and especially the profound contempt with 
which the Jews regarded the Samaritans. 
They had no dealings with them, and, except 
in cases of necessity, never trod the soil of 
their country. To take, therefore, one of 
this despised race, and set him above the 
priest and the Levite, to make him even a 
model for the imitation of the Jews, was to 
them an almost inconceivable thing, and a 
severe blow at their racial narrowness and 
religious bigotry. This was far more startling 
than it would be for an American to hold 
up the Chinese or Hungarians as examples 
to pattern after. 

It would be difficult to find, among the 
Christians of to-day, as liberal a spirit as was 
manifested by their great Master. Like the 
apostles we are slow to rise above national 
and sectarian traditions. The idea of spiritual 
fraternity makes but slow headway against 
the purblind and partisan spirit which still 



The True Teacher. 



prevails to a considerable extent. We forget 
that the kingdom of God is not an external 
one, that it does not consist in outward ob- 
servances, but in righteousness and peace and 
joy in the Holy Ghost, and that we have 
no right, therefore, to set at nought a fellow 
Christian because, forsooth, he cannot pro- 
nounce our " shibboleth," and does not agree 
with us in every detail of doctrine or cere- 
mony. To disturb the fraternal feeling which 
should characterize all the disciples of Christ 
by magnifying some minor matter of creed or 
ritual, is an unbefitting and unprofitable thing 
to do. It is not form or external relation- 
ship that shall be the test of genuine reli- 
gion, but the state of the heart as manifested 
in an active and consecrated life. The Sav- 
ior's significant words ought always to ring 
in our ears when he said, " Whosoever shall 
do the will of my Father which is in 
heaven, the same is my brother and sister 
and mother." That church is the best church 
which does the most. That denomination 
is most Christlike which loves the most. 
That religious body has the best promise 



200 



Things New and Old. 



of success which, while it does not ignore 
its own peculiar tenets and spirit, is most 
sympathetic and cooperative with other simi- 
lar bodies. 

Personally, I am strongly wedded to the 
Reformed Church. Its doctrine and cultus 
suit me best. I have been a member of it 
from childhood and will probably always be. 
It would require an influence strong as a der- 
rick to lift me out of it. Nevertheless, I can 
recognize the good there is in other denom- 
inations, and am always ready to clasp hands 
in fraternal greeting or in united practical 
work with them. I am cosmopolitan in spirit 
though thoroughly Reformed in doctrine. I 
am a Methodist if that means being in earnest. 
I am a Lutheran if that means being reason- 
ably conservative. I am a Presbyterian if that 
means an abounding faith in the sovereignty of 
God. I am a Catholic also, not a Roman 
Catholic, but a member of the church to which 
St. Peter belonged. I do not know that 
St. Peter ever was at Rome, but I do know 
that he w r as at Jerusalem, and that he united 
with the church there. And that is the church 



The True Teaclier. 



20I 



to which I belong — the universal church, the 
great body of believers, who, though interpret- 
ing the Scriptures differently and working by 
different methods, still stand closely related to 
each other by virtue of a common connection 
with Jesus Christ. 

It is to be regretted that we still have 
people, and that, too, in clerical garb, who 
are like that man of whom Rabelais not 
very elegantly said : " He lived in a barrel all 
his lifetime and looked out through the bung- 
hole." The Christian church is greatly handi- 
capped by the limited views of some of its 
members. For the ministers of one denomi- 
nation to refuse fellowship, either pulpit or 
social, with those of another, is a reproach to 
the cause of Christ, and a hindrance to its 
progress. Such lack of love between those 
who profess to be servants of the same 
Christ, makes a most unfavorable impression 
upon the men of the world. They see that 
it is inconsistent with the spirit of the 
Christian religion, and it consequently proves 
a stumbling block to them. And the saddest 
thing about it is that this bigotry has, in 
many cases, so flimsy a foundation. It is 



202 



Tilings New and Old. 



very much like the poet Sheridan's feeling 
toward one of his cotemporaries : 

"I do not like you, Doctor Fell, 
The reason why I cannot tell, 
But this I'm sure I know full well, 
I do not like you, Doctor Fell." 

It is a prejudice that exists without sufficient 
cause and that would vanish after the exer- 
cise of even a little social fellowship. To 
withhold such fellowship is to be deliberately 
narrow and in this respect unlike the great 
Master in Israel. 

III. A true teacher is not desirous of popu- 
larity for its own sake. Not being limited to 
this world, he can be independent of the ap- 
plause of this world. To be popular in the 
common sense of that word is not a desira- 
ble thing, for the Savior says, " Woe unto 
you, when all men shall speak well of you." 
We cannot be universal favorites if we speak 
out fearlessly, and, therefore, it is not well to 
aim at pleasing everybody. It were better to 
have opposition for the truth's sake, than to 
be praised by everybody for withholding the 
truth. We do not mean to say that it is not 



The True Teacher. 



203 



a good thing for a minister to have a large 
and sympathetic hearing. A numerous audi- 
ence is quite desirable, so long as it does not 
tend to muzzle the speech of the minister in 
his effort to hold it. But it is certainly true 
that unless a minister is thoroughly spiritual 
he will be more or less sensitive to the praises 
of his hearers, and to that extent will be in 
danger of modifying his message to suit them. 
A large crowd may, therefore, be a restraint 
on the utterances of a preacher, and may, on 
that account, prove dangerous. Among the 
many who frequent the sanctuary on the Sab- 
bath there will be the cultured, the wealthy, 
the influential, and it is but natural to want 
their good graces and their favorable judg- 
ment. Instead of speaking out, therefore, he 
may " trim " to suit them. He does not wish 
to offend, and thus deter these influential peo- 
ple from attending his services. A compliment 
from them sounds sw r eeter than music on his 
ear. He courts their praises even at the cost 
of some of his convictions. The desire for fame, 
which, as Milton says, is the last weakness of 
a noble mind, cuts the nerve of his preach- 
ing, and weakens his spiritual influence. 



'204 



Things New and Old. 



Christ differs from many of his ministers in 
this respect. He cared little for men's opin- 
ions, but spoke out fearlessly. In the prose- 
cution of his work he went straight forward 
without regard to human influence. The sins 
of his time were dealt with conscientiously. 
The people of his time received their needed 
instruction at his hands. Though they com- 
plimented his preaching very highly, and said, 
" Never man spake like this man," he did 
not refrain from telling them the truth. He 
was not content to be a mere miracle worker, 
a juggler in words, an empty sensationalist. 
Simply to be surrounded by a curious and 
admiring crowd was not his ambition. He 
came to speak to the heart and to prepare 
men for his kingdom. In doing this it was 
necessary to utter brave words, and he never 
failed to do it. Though many of his dis- 
ciples took offense " and walked no more 
with him," he continued sternly loyal to his 
mission, and abated not one jot or tittle of 
his message. His thundering denunciation of 
the Pharisees resulted in their bitter animos- 
ity toward him, and finally cost him his life. 
The sacrifice he made was, from an earthly 



The True Teacher. 



205 



standpoint, a great one, as he might have con- 
tinued the popular favorite had he so desired. 
He surrendered his temporal prospects in the 
interest of the eternal, and thus has set an 
example for his ministers throughout all time 
to imitate. Like him they ought to be fear- 
less of men or devils, and ready to sacrifice 
this world for the other. 



" The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

" He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he 
leadeth me beside the still waters. 

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for his name's sake. 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy 
rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of 
mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup 
runneth over. 

" Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days 
of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
forever."— Psalm XXIII. 



XI. 



THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

In the Orient of the olden times a shep- 
herd was something different from a farmer 
of our times. He was devoted solely and ex- 
clusively to that occupation. His flocks were 
his only possessions and all his interest cen- 
tered in them. With us agriculture and 
sheep raising are commonly combined. The 
farmer follows the two pursuits and does it 
merely for the profit there may be in it. 
His attention to the sheep is entirely merce- 
nary, and apart from that has no meaning 
whatever. In the eastern lands this was dif- 
ferent. Shepherding was an occupation of 
itself. The shepherd cared nothing for 
agriculture, but gave his whole attention to 
the flocks. In consequence of this, a close 
personal relation sprang up between him and 

his sheep. He looked upon them as his com- 

(207) 



2o8 Things New and Old. 



panions rather thail his chattels. Alone in 
the desert, with no human being near, they 
were drawn close together. As the sainted 
Robertson forcibly says, " Between lives so 
distant there was woven by night and by 
day, by summer suns and winter frosts, 
a living network of sympathy. The greater 
and the less mingled their being together. 
They felt each other. They knew each 
other." Though there were hundreds in the 
flock each individual sheep had its name and 
knew it. We look upon a flock of sheep 
and cannot distinguish one from another. 
They seem as much alike to us as so many 
peas. The Oriental shepherd, however, knew 
each individual sheep and called it by its 
name. The tenderest kind of an attachment 
existed between them, and, as a consequence, 
he felt it his sacred duty to protect his 
animal companions at all hazards. If one 
went astray he sought it diligently. If some 
wild animal broke into the fold he defended 
the flock, even at the risk of his life. It 
was no easy occupation. Jacob, who en- 
gaged in it in the solitudes of Padan Aram, 
says it was a wearisome and responsible 



The Good Shepherd. 



209 



position. " In the day the drought con- 
sumed me and the frosts by night ; and my 
sleep departed from mine eyes." David 
speaks of it also. He tells how, on one 
occasion when he was keeping his father's flock, 
a lion and a bear came upon them and carried 
away a lamb. He smote the bear with his 
staff, and, seizing the lion by the jaw, tore 
him asunder. There was danger as well as 
hardship connected with this pastoral pursuit. 
And keeping in view the love and the self- 
sacrifice which it involved, we get a better 
conception of the psalmist's meaning when he 
says, "The Lord is my shepherd." 

Christ was a shepherd before he came 
into this world. His flock at that time 
was the heavenly host which he guided on 
their infinite journey through space. He 
called the stars into being by his almighty 
voice, and then directed them with his power- 
ful arm across the blue plains of the firma- 
ment. A bright and shining flock they were, 
Orion, Arcturus and his sons, and all the 
multitude of glittering orbs that bestud the 
midnight sky. Through long ages he pre- 
served them, and, faithful shepherd that he 
14 



210 



Tilings New and Old. 



is, kept them safely from destruction. Yet 
one human soul is worth more to him than 
all the shining stars of heaven. As Young in 
his " Night Thoughts/' has beautifully said, 

' ' Behold the midnight splendor, world on worlds ! 
Ten thousand add and twice ten thousand more. 
Then weigh the whole. One single soul outweighs them all, 
And calls this seeming vast magnificence of unintelligent 
creation poor." 

What you see above you, that azure canopy 
beset with golden gems, is naught compared 
with an immortal spirit that shall live long 
after they have ceased to shine. They are 
only dust, glittering it may be, yet doomed 
to vanish at the last into the night of obliv- 
ion, while the soul, the breath of God, shall 
last as long as God himself. 

And so the great shepherd left the heaven- 
ly host and came down to seek the lost 
sheep of the House of Israel. With infinite 
condescension he turned from the material 
splendor of the skies, and came to gather to- 
gether the scattered and helpless sons of men. 
He is here now as the " good shepherd." 
With unspeakable devotion he watches over 
and shelters his flock. The erring ones he 



The Good Shepherd, 



211 



patiently follows into the wilderness of sin 
and brings them back again. The feeble ones 
he tenderly carries on his shoulders. The 
tempted ones he snatches from the jaws of the 
" roaring lion." And all of them he "leads 
upon the green meadows and by the cool 
water brooks of his Word." Who would not 
want to be under his faithful care and fol- 
low the guidance of his shepherd staff? 
Some one we are sure to follow. If it is not 
the Lord it will be another. It is impossi- 
ble to be without some spiritual patron. If 
the Lord does not rule over us then some one 
else will. The enemy of souls is at large and 
misses no opportunity to lure the shepherd- 
less into the dangerous and barren desert of 
sin. There is this alternative only, either 
Christ or Belial. 

My work as a minister is to help bring peo- 
ple under the shepherd care of Jesus. I am 
thankful to be able to say, " The Lord is my 
shepherd." From personal experience I know 
that he is tender and faithful, and abundantly 
able to shelter his own. And because my re- 
lation to him has been a blessed and a pleas- 
ant one, I can the more earnestly encourage 



212 



1 /lings New and Old. 



others to enter into it. In doing this I may 
at times become urgent, even importunate. 
Some of you may think too much so. Yet, 
when you call to mind the great interests at 
stake, and the needless procrastination so com- 
mon among men, you cannot wonder at my 
earnest solicitude and my vigorous speech. 
When you remember how many hear the over- 
tures of the Gospel, and fully understand the 
bearing of them, yet defer a decision until 
some more convenient season, you must read- 
ily recognize the reason of my importunity. 
To use a practical illustration : Here is a mer- 
chant. A shopper comes to his store and asks 
to see his goods. In the most obliging man- 
ner possible the merchant takes down the 
goods from their shelf and displays them on 
the counter, carefully and plainly pointing out 
their excellent qualities, and their very mod- 
erate price. The shopper examines the goods 
and is pleased with them, but goes away say- 
ing, " I will think about it until to-morrow, 
and will then make my purchase." On the 
morrow he comes again, and asks a second 
time to see the goods. The merchant again 
displays them and tells of their merits. The 



The Good Shepherd. 213 

shopper looks them over and over, and then 
goes away a second time without closing a 
bargain. On the following morning he comes 
again, and repeats his request to see the goods, 
with the explanation that he has not fully 
made up his mind. The merchant again gives 
him an opportunity to inspect the goods. The 
shopper again examines them critically, and has 
no objection whatever to make either to the 
quality or the price. But again he departs with- 
out leaving his order. He comes again and 
again, until he has appeared six times in suc- 
cession, every time inspecting the goods, yet 
never making a purchase. At last the mer- 
chant says, " See here, my good man, this dal- 
lying must cease. You must reach some con- 
clusion. Either give me your order, or tell 
.me you do not like the goods." Could you 
blame the merchant if he became somewhat 
in earnest ? He must be a very patient man 
indeed, who, under the circumstances, would not 
cut the negotiations short. 

Most of mv unconverted hearers are acting- 
in a manner similar to that of the undecided 
shopper. You have had the matter of reli- 
gion presented and explained to you many a 



214 



Things New and Old. 



time. You heard of it in childhood. It was 
brought to your attention in youth either by 
parent or teacher. It has been expounded to 
you again and again from this sacred desk. 
You find no fault with the overtures and 
blessings proffered, and you expect some time 
to accept of them. Can you wonder that I 
ask you to reach a conclusion and that I do 
it with importunity ? Could you wonder if 
God were to become impatient with you in 
your irresolution and turn away from you 
forever? If he were not God, long-suffering 
and of tender mercy, he would long ago have 
done so. But he still stretches forth his 
hands exclaiming, " As I live, I have no 
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but 
rather that the wicked turn from their evil 
way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, for why 
will ye die?" His invitation and his willing- 
ness to receive will not fail, but your oppor- 
tunity to come may cease. Like all the rest 
of mankind, your " breath is in your nostrils 
and you stand on the brink of the grave." 
You may not open your eyes on another 
morning's sun here below. Because of this 
solemn possibility I say, " To-day is the ac- 



The Good Shepherd. 



215 



cepted time." To-day is always God's time, 
and if we are wise we will make it ours. I 
preach for to-day. I am not here to ask 
people to become Christians to-morrow or ten 
years hence. I may not* be here to-morrow. 
You may not be here. The present is ours, 
the future we never see. For this reason I 
urge men to seek their salvation " while it is 
called to-day." 

" Suns set and rise in these dull skies. 
Suns rise and set, till men forget 
The day is at the door when he shall rise no more. 
O everlasting Sun, whose race is never run, 
Be thou my Guide! " 

The shepherd whom I commend to you is 
good and faithful. He himself has said it. 
Unlike the " shepherds of Israel," against whom 
Ezekiel prophesied, is Jesus. His sheep are 
not scattered by reason of his negligence, or 
torn to pieces because he cannot protect them. 
" Behold, the Lord God will come with strong 
hand, and his arm shall rule for him : behold, 
his reward is with him, and his work before 
him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : 
he shall gather the lambs with his arm and 
carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead 



2l6 



Things New and Old. 



those that are with young." Jesus is full of 
compassion toward the weak, and his hand is 
strong to do what his heart conceives. No 
roaring lion or ravening wolf can ever tear a 
sheep from his fold; Once his arm trembled 
in Gethsemane, when the burden of human sin 
rested on his shoulders, and the demons of hell 
gathered against him. Once his hand quivered 
as it was nailed to the cross on Golgotha. But 
now no more. He is almighty, and abundantly 
able to defend and provide for his own. Who- 
soever can say with the psalmist, " The Lord 
is my shepherd," can also say 

"I shall not want." How blessed is he that 
can use this comforting language ! To have 
implicit confidence in him who is guiding us, 
makes it possible to do so. And to be able to 
say, "I shall not want," is really to be rich. 
But how few there are who know this blessed 
state ! Everywhere there seems to be something 
wanting. Everywhere there is discontent and 
complaining. Turn where you will, and you 
hear the voice of fretful murmuring. The hearts 
of men are uneasy because of the lack of some 
temporal treasure. Dissatisfaction is an almost 
universal condition. Yet if one belong to the 



The Good Shepherd, 



21/ 



fold of the Good Shepherd he can sincerely 
say, " I shall not want." His faith in Christ's 
ability to help and bless, will make him free 
from anxious care. Having him he has all, and 
thus is satisfied. The baubles of earth wane 
into insignificance compared with the richness 
of a Savior's love. 

Not only does the Lord supply the present 
needs of his people, but he has also engaged 
to sustain them in the future. " I shall not 
want." The psalmist having uttered these 
words, afterwards confirms them when he says : 
" I have been young, and now am old ; yet 
have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor 
his seed begging bread." In a very literal 
sense the Good Shepherd will care for his 
own. It may not always be our way, but in 
his own way he is sure to provide. He 
never grows old nor is his arm palsied so 
that he cannot help. He is able to avert 
every danger and meet every emergency, for 
"all power has been committed to him, in 
heaven and in earth." A certain member of 
the flock of Christ was reduced to apparent 
poverty in his old age. u You must be badly 
off," said a kind-hearted neighbor to him one 



218 



Tilings New and Old. 



day, "you must be badly off; and I don't 
know how an old man like you can maintain 
yourself and your wife ; yet you are always cheer- 
ful ! " " Oh, no! " he replied, " we are not badly 
off, I have a rich father and he does not 
suffer me to want." " What ! your father not 
dead yet ? He must be very old indeed !" " Oh !" 
said he, " my father never dies and he always 
takes care of me." This aged Christian was 
a daily pensioner on the providence of his 
God. His struggles and his poverty were 
known to all ; but his own declaration was, 
that he never wanted what was absolutely 
necessary. The days of his greatest needs 
were the days of his most timely deliverances. 
When old age weakened the hand of his in- 
dustry the Lord extended to him the hand 
of charity. Often did he go forth from his 
scanty breakfast, not knowing from what 
earthly source his next meal was to be ob- 
tained. But yet with David he could rely 
on his Shepherd's care, and say, " I shall 
not want ;" and as certainly as he trusted in 
God so surely, in some unexpected manner, 
was his necessity supplied. 

"He maketh me to lie down in green pas- 



The Good Shepherd. 



219 



tures. He leadeth me beside the still waters." 
Many of the Master's sheep have strayed 
away and are grazing upon strange meadows. 
With the appetite vitiated they prefer the weeds 
of sinful pleasure and the poisonous apples 
of Sodom to the green pastures and cool water 
brooks of the Gospel. They have broken 
away from the fold and give no heed to 
the Master's call. They can sing in the para- 
phrased language of the sweet hymn, 

"I am a wandering sheep, 
1 do not love the fold, 
I do not love my Father's voice, 
I will not be controlled." 

All of the Shepherd's gentle dealings do not 
avail. They continue their truancy and seem 
to court danger with deliberate purpose. Then 
he resorts to drastic measures. If they will 
not be drawn he begins to drive. He puts 
a bit into the mouth and leads them. We 
know of a lad who had been reared in a 
pious family. In infancy already he had been 
consecrated to the Lord in baptism, and after- 
wards grew up in the atmosphere of a Chris- 
tian home. Parental prayers and affections 
were generously bestowed upon him, yet in 



220 



Things New. and Old. 



spite of all he became a wayward boy. His 
mother's gentle advice and tender yearning 
seemed to be in vain. He gave no heed to 
her directions and sported on the perilous 
brink of ruin. At last the Good Shepherd 
took the case in hand. One day, while she 
was on an errand, a message came to the 
mother, "You are wanted at home immedi- 
ately. Your boy has broken a limb." In a 
fit of passion the lad had left the parental 
roof, and was stealing his way eastward on the 
cars when, by an almost inexplicable mishap, 
his foot was caught beneath the merciless 
wheels and severed from the body. The sub- 
sequent weeks of suffering mellowed his dis- 
position wonderfully. The discipline of afflic- 
tion made him meek and tractable. He is a 
different kind of a boy now. Fleece-torn and 
trembling, he has come to himself again. His 
willfulness has vanished, and he is easily led 
without a bit. 

In one of our neighboring towns lives a 
man who, years ago, was very rich. Providence 
smiled upon him and he prospered greatly. 
But in the midst of his prosperity he became 
irreligious. Worldly success turned his head 



The Good Sliepherd. 



221 



and made him unmindful of God. The Shep- 
herd of souls then laid hold of him with a 
forcible hand. Commercial reverses overtook 
him in rapid succession. His wealth took flight 
even more rapidly than it came. From the 
extreme of affluence he was brought down to 
pinching poverty. Humiliating as it was to 
his natural pride he became a traveling sales- 
man. At first it was a great cross to him to 
take this descending step in the social scale. 
He felt ashamed to appear in the modest role 
of an agent. To conceal his vocation he car- 
ried his samples in a little bundle under his 
coat. But as he was walking the street one 
day they accidentally dropped to the ground 
and fluttered about in the wind. The children 
who saw him cried out, "Ah ha ! he is carry- 
ing samples under his coat." This innocent 
rebuke so affected him that he decided he 
would have to become humble. And he did. 
From that time on he carried his samples in 
his hand. His pride left him and the piety of 
his earlier life came back again. He now holds 
a good position and is a man of influence in 
the community. It is no longer necessary to 
put a curb in his mouth and "make him lie 



222 



Tilings New and Old. 



down in green pastures, or lead him beside the 
still waters." 

" Yea, though I walk tJirougli the valley of 
the shadow of deaths I will fear no evil." Multi- 
tudes do. The approach of death fills them 
with deepest disquietude. Their trembling 
souls start back from the somber shadows of 
the grave. The coffin and the shroud they 
cannot bear to think about. To call the earth 
mother and the worms sister and brother is to 
them the gloomiest and most hopeless outlook 
imaginable. 

But this dread of dying is only a tribute to 
nature. The Christian in a state of grace can 
conquer the fear of death as his Master con- 
quered death itself. In a hospital in the city 
of Berne, lay an actress on a sick bed. She was 
critically ill, and apparently near her end. 
Having lived a gay and thoughtless life, she 
was now afraid to die. The angel of death 
seemed to her indeed the " dark-robed angel." 
She trembled at the prospect before her. She 
wailed and lamented. The adjoining room was 
occupied by a pious teacher. This lady, though 
also in danger of death, was perfectly calm. 
The actress, however, could not control her 



The Good Shepherd. 



223 



emotions, and loudly deplored her lot. Her 
moanings were uninterrupted and heart-rend- 
ing. At last the teacher could endure it no 
longer. Though sick and weak, she arose, went 
to the door of the actress, and with a gentle 
voice cried unto her: "The Lord is my shep- 
herd ; I shall not want." " Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; 
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." k> In 
six troubles I will be with thee, and in the 
seventh I will not forsake thee." "When thou 
passeth through the waters they shall not 
overflow thee, and through the rivers they 
shall not destroy thee." Under the influence 
of these soothing words the actress became 
tranquil and resigned. She adopted the senti- 
ments so sweetly proclaimed to her, and 
looked into the future. In a few hours she 
passed into the valley in perfect composure. 

Yonder a mother lies dying. She has ten 
children and calls them all to her bedside 
but one who resides in a distant city. With 
sad hearts the sons and daughters gather 
round the couch of their beloved mother. 
One by one she places her trembling hand 



224 



Tilings New and Old. 



on their heads and blesses them. With the 
utmost tranquility she asks them to sing her 
favorite song. How can they sing at the 
deathbed of their mother ? They weep. Then 
with weak and trembling voice the mother 
herself begins to sing and gradually the chil- 
dren join in the song. The sick chamber 
echoes with hallowed strains from the quiver- 
ing lips of the entire family, and as the last 
notes die away the soul of the pious mother 
passes into the immortal. 

Could you do that? Could you sing on 
your deathbed ? Many a dying saint has. 
The soul that is full of the harmony of love 
will not lose its melody in the last hour. 
We, ourselves, have heard the songs of dying 
Christians and have seen their faces aglow with 
the light of an invisible glory. With an al- 
most celestial sweetness they seemed to have 
joined in a chorus to us inaudible. And then 
lapped in the soft billows of angelic music 
their disembodied spirits went upwards and 
away. A more than human strength comes 
to the saint when he stretches out his bony 
hand to lean on the shepherd staff of his 
Master. He is of good cheer when he walks 



The Good Shepherd, 



225 



" through the valley of the shadow of death," 
because his Savior is with him, and the sweet 
fields of Eden just before him. In this com- 
fort, and with this enrapturing prospect, un- 
numbered Christians have gone over into the 
heavenlies. 

" Let Faith exalt her joyful voice, 
And thus begin to sing, 
O grave, where is thy triumph now, 
And where, O Death, thy sting? " 



15 



" And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
he will give it you. 

" Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye 
shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

" At that day ye shall ask in my name : and I say unto you, 
that I will pray the Father for you. 

" For the Father "himself loveth you, because ye have loved 
me, and have believed that I came out from God." 

—John XVI : 23-27. 



XII. 

REASONABLENESS AND EFFICACY OF 
PRAYER. 

PRAYER, like religion, has its basis in the 
deepest needs of the human heart. It is 
something that cannot be totally suppressed, 
however perverted religious ideas may be. 
It is made use of not only by Christians 
but also by Jews and Turks. Even the rude 
heathen engage in it in their own peculiar 
way. They supplicate the higher Being for 
help, whatever their conception of that Being 
may be. They commune with their gods, 
though those gods be only animals, or stones 
or a painted stick. 

Prayer is one of the most natural exercises 
of the soul. If w r e observe man closely we 
find that there are moments when some 
mighty influence lays hold of him and impels 
him to make known his wants and present 
his desires to the Supreme Being. Yea, 

(227) 



228 Tilings New and Old. 

there are times and circumstances when he 
cannot resist the impulse of his soul ; when, 
even though he have no religious training, 
he becomes devotional and involuntarily bows 
the head and lifts up the heart in supplica- 
tion. 

Prayer is the channel through w T hich we give 
expression to our religious emotions. It is that 
organ of our spiritual being by means of which 
we communicate with heaven, and it is just as 
necessary to the soul as sight or hearing is to 
the mind. To close up this channel of spirit- 
ual utterance is to put a muzzle upon our inner 
nature, and would be the crudest kind of 
bondage to our piety and devotion. " Have 
you ever seen a dumb man under strong men- 
tal excitement ? How he distorts his counte- 
nance, and twists his body, and moves his 
hands in fantastic gestures. How he opens his 
mouth and tries to move his tongue that is 
tied — tied never to be loosened again, in spite 
of his frantic efforts to move it. Down deep 
in his breast you can hear the hollow work- 
ings of those inner organs which give volume 
to speech, but all in vain. His whole frame 
seems to be in distress because he cannot pro- 



Efficacy of Prayer. 



229 



duce an articulate sound. As you look at him 
you are touched with pity, and feel a deep re- 
gret that a fellow-creature should be deprived 
of the splendid faculty of expressing his 
thought." But even more lamentable than 
that would it be if a religious man had no 
means of communicating with his Maker ; if 
the channel of prayer were closed, and the 
power of lifting the soul heavenward destroyed. 
It would be death to a Christian, and worse 
than death, to be filled with spiritual anima- 
tion and have no way to give vent to it. As 
well amputate a limb from the body as to 
suppress the power of the spirit to communi- 
cate with the Father of spirits. 

We know the skeptic says, " Prayer may be 
a good thing as a religious exercise, a sort 
of safety valve to allow the pent-up emotions 
to escape ; its reflex influence upon the soul 
may be beneficient even though there be no 
efficacy in it, It can do no harm at least, 
if it does no good. But as for its bringing 
down upon us the blessing of heaven, that is 
a mere delusion. How can it be expected 
that God, if there be a God, can answer the 
prayers that come up from the millions 



230 



Tilings New and Old. 



of the race. They may be contradictory. 
What is asked by one person may be depre- 
cated by another ; what is the desire of one 
may be the dread of another. Some may 
pray for rain, and some for sunshine. Some 
may .ask for this or that, and some for just 
the reverse. How can the Almighty grant 
their petitions? And how can you frail 
mortal, you fleeting insect of an hour, pre- 
sume to change the mind of that Being who, 
from all eternity, wisely arranged and ordained 
everything according to his infinite wisdom. 
How can you poor ignorant man venture to 
go before God with your supplication and 
tell him what to do? How can you expect 
to alter the divine decrees which were set 
fast before the world began ? You may pray, 
but you are greatly deluded if you think 
that your prayer will receive any consider- 
ation from the eternal throne." 

Sad would it be if we had no other con- 
solation save what the skeptic has to offer. 
All these specious objections should not shake 
our faith in the power of prayer. According 
to the text we can go to God with our 
petitions and he will hear us. Although this 



Efficacy of Prayer. 



promise primarily concerned the apostles, 
there is no reason why it should not apply 
to us. It warrants the firm belief that if we 
ask anything in the name of Jesus the Lord 
will grant it. And what the Redeemer 
assures his followers here, he assures all men 
in other passages of his Word. It is as true 
as God Himself that he hears and answers 
prayer. 

Now permit us, by the aid of the Holy 
Spirit, to give you some of the reasons why 
w r e believe that prayer is efficacious, and also 
some of the conditions under which it is so. 

I. The first reason why we believe that our 
supplication is answered, if it be sincere, is 
that Christ and the whole Bible teach it. 
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye 
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give 
it you." "Ask and ye shall receive, that your 
joy may be full." " What man is there of 
you, whom, if his son ask bread, will he give 
him a stone ; or, if he ask a fish, will he give 
him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father which is in 



232 



Things New and Old, 



heaven give good things to them that ask 
Him/' " If ye abide in me and my words 
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it 
shall be done unto you." " They that seek 
the Lord shall not want any good thing." 
The passage which forms the basis of this dis- 
course represents a relation between God and 
man such as there is none more intimate. 
The Lord is called Father and we his chil- 
dren. This means that he is near to us, 
sees everything, arranges everything, and knows 
all our wants. Without his knowledge noth- 
ing occurs, and contrary to his will not a 
hair can fall from our heads. By the spirit 
of his son, we, as sons, may cry unto him, 
" Abba Father." Because of our intimate re- 
lation to this great Being we may speak to 
him as a child would speak to his parent. 

Christ not only taught us to pray but he 
was himself an example of prayer. At va- 
rious times he turned his face heavenward in 
earnest supplication. He prayed on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, he prayed at the 
grave of Lazarus, he prayed in the wilderness 
of Bethsaida, he prayed in the garden of his 
agony, he prayed on the cross in his dying 



Efficacy of Prayer, 



233 



hour. At every crisis of his life and in every 
trying situation, he lifted up his eyes and his 
heart toward heaven. And he has taught us 
to do the same, with the positive assurance 
that it will be effectual in securing the favor 
of God. 

II. Another reason why we believe that God 
hears our prayers is the fact that he is a God 
of love. A God who does not love us has 
practically ceased to be our God. It was his 
love which called us into existence. It was 
his love which endowed us with faculties but 
little less than angelic. It was his love which 
made the earth for our abode, and decked it 
with foliage and flowers in poetic profusion. 
It was his love which instituted here an econ- 
omy in which even the storms of life are prof- 
itable, and serve to purify and prepare us for 
a better world. It was his love which sent 
Christ to the earth, and opened for us the 
gates of heaven and the prospect of eternal 
life. We have a thousand evidences of the 
tender affection of the Lord. Among all crea- 
tures we stand nearest to his great Father 
heart. And will this love coldly repel us when 



234 



Things New and Old. 



we come to him in supplication? Will this 
love give a serpent when we ask for a fish, or 
a stone when we ask for bread ? Will this love 
do less than human affection would do ? 

See that poor creature, a4one in his chamber, 
sin-stained and sin-cursed, haunted by the 
memory of other days, and smitten by the 
whips of conscience ; see him upon his knees 
wrestling in prayer, crying from the depths of 
his guilty soul for mercy, pleading most ear- 
nestly for the divine pardon. The human 
heart would forgive him — should not the great 
Father heart of God ? 

See another sadly afflicted mortal. His sys- 
tem is racked by disease, and quivers with 
pain. He is in deepest physical distress, and 
tosses restlessly upon his couch. With touch- 
ing entreaty he throws himself into the arms 
of the Lord, and cries, " Father, if it be pos- 
sible, deliver me from this sickness." Any hu- 
man heart would have compassion upon such 
an one — ought not God ? 

See that honest and industrious father. He 
labors hard, yet cannot earn enough to sup- 
port his family. All his efforts are insufficient 
to secure the necessary bread and raiment. 



Efficacy of Prayer. 



^35 



The little ones are poorly clad, and pale with 
hunger. In the secret of his closet the father 
brings his affairs before the Lord, and cries, 
" O God, be gracious and help me. Give 
bread for me and my family." And shall not 
he who hears the young ravens, when they 
cry, hear that prayer? Shall he who clothes 
the lily of the field in such exquisite beauty, 
turn a deaf ear to the prayers of his human 
creatures ? 

See that pious mother kneeling at the bed- 
side of her dying child : see how she wrings 
her hands and calls to God, " Father, if it be 
possible, spare this child, leave me the lamb 
of my bosom." Xever did she pray so fer- 
vently and importunately ; never did she so 
throw her soul into a petition. Human beings 
would pity that mother, should not the God 
of love ? 

Men talk now-a-days as though we were liv- 
ing in a world of cold machinery, as though 
the Lord, having started the wheels of nature, 
had gone away and left them to run on un- 
til the end of time, as though he had no 
longer any interest in the welfare of his crea- 
tures. Every Christian heart must revolt at 



236 



Tilings New and Old, 



such a view as that. To be left in a de- 
serted world, at the mercy of a blind fate, 
would be comfortless indeed. It were better 
not to be so wise than to have so cold and 
cheerless a philosophy. There is no doctrine 
so comforting as that which tells us we are 
in our Father's house, that everything we see 
is his and at his disposal, that he is always 
looking at us and always thinking about us. 
How despairful the thought that we are in 
an empty residence, that when we cry for 
succor there can be no answer but the echo 
of our wailing. How consoling to speak 
that one word, " Father," how musical to our 
ears, how full of meaning ! And shall not he 
who has taught us to say, " Our Father, who 
art in heaven," take pity on his children, heed 
their appeals and do all which that relation 
implies ? Away with the notion that the pray- 
ers of men do not reach the loving heart of 
God. As well have no God as to have one 
that cannot hear or help. 

III. The third reason why we believe that 
God hears and answers prayer is that it ac- 
cords fully with his wisdom. It is true he 



Efficacy of Prayer, 



-57 



has from all eternity arranged everything. He 
has a plan, adopted long ages ago, which is 
now being worked out in the world. The 
Christian believes that more fully than does 
the skeptic. But when the skeptic says that 
the fact of such a divine plan excludes the 
possibility of effectual prayer, we differ with 
him. The answering of a prayer from human 
lips need not necessarily change God's plan. 
May not the Lord have embodied it into 
his plan from the beginning that he will 
hear the prayers of the righteous ? May not 
this be one of the decrees ? May it not be 
entirely in accord with his way of working ? 
Says the sainted dimming, k * We know that 
if we do not sow Ave cannot gather the 
harvest. But it is reasonable to expect that 
if we dig and mellow the ground and put 
seeds into it the Creator will open those 
little seeds and bring forth an abundant 
harvest. The planting is the condition on 
which we reap, and surely that does not in- 
volve any change in the ordinances of God. 
If we do not eat we will not grow strong. 
But if we put food into our mouths, God 
will put forth his energy to change it into 



2 3 S 



Tilings New and Old. 



blood and bones and muscles for the upbuild- 
ing of these bodies. The eating is the con- 
dition on which we develop, but that does 
not involve any change in the divine plan. 
We stretch a wire across the continent and 
adjust certain metals and fluids, according to 
an arrangement which he has ordained. We 
may then write a message and he will, in 
the twinkling of an eye, by an instantaneous 
thrill along that wire, cause the message to 
be faithfully written at the other end of it. 
Our adjusting the wire and the fluid is the 
condition on which the message will be 
carried, but our doing that does not imply 
any change in the divine arrangements. Now 
is it any more reasonable to believe that 
God will put forth his almighty power to 
help us on such conditions, than that he 
should put forth the same power to help us 
on the condition that we ask him?" If, 
however, a man does not believe in God, 
then certainly prayer must seem absurd to 
him. In that case it means no more than 
talking to the winds. But we Christians be- 
lieve in God and in one, too, that is 
master in his own house, that has not tied 



Efficacy of Prayer. 



239 



his hands by any law he may have made. 
We believe in one who can ^answer the cry 
of his people, not always in the way they 
intend, or at the time they expect, but ac- 
cording to the promptings of his wisdom and 
and his love. 

Then the Savior tells us, also, under what 
conditions our prayers will be answered. 

I. The first condition is that we pray in 
the name of Jesus. (l Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father 
in my name, he will give it you." Xow, 
what is it to pray in the name of Jesus ? 
This is difficult for many to understand. 
When we say that one does anything in the 
name of another we mean that he acts and 
speaks as though the other stood in his 
stead. This is exemplified in the character of 
a foreign ambassador. We send a man to 
London. He is there as the representative of 
the American government. He receives his 
authority from the government. He acts in 
the name of the government, and whatever 
he says or does is attributed to the govern- 
ment. In the same way a minister stands 



240 



Things New and Old. 



before his people in the name of Jesus. He 
is his ambassador. His words must be re- 
garded as though the Lord himself uttered 
them. For the Savior says to his disciples, 
"Whoso receiveth you, receiveth me, and 
whoso receiveth me, receiveth him that sent 
me." An ambassador would cut a sorry 
figure at the court of St. James, if he stood 
there representing no one but himself. He 
would be a virtual nullity without this na- 
tion of sixty million of people at his back. 
A minister would be a weakling if he came 
to his fellowmen with his own wisdom and 
his own message. The great Master, who 
has commissioned him and who stands be 
hind him, gives him his dignity and power. 
It is only as he speaks in the name of 
Jesus that he receives an attentive hearing. 
If a man is thus feeble when he appears 
before his fellow beings without the authority 
of the Savior, how much more feeble would 
he be to appear in the presence of the Al- 
mighty upon his own merits. How could an 
erring, disobedient creature expect to com- 
mand the consideration of him whom he has 
offended. 



Efficacy of Prayer, 



241 



If God loves us, it is for Jesus' sake. If 
he hears us, it is as such who come in the 
name of Jesus. 

II. Another condition is that we pray in the 
right spirit. If we have the spirit of God within 
us, it will prompt us to ask for nothing that 
may be detrimental to us, or contrary to the will 
of God. By bringing us into proper sympathy 
with the Lord, it causes us to request only 
such things as are compatible with his charac- 
ter to grant. One of the essentials of an ef- 
fectual petition is that it be legitimate. If 
we ask for that which is unnecessary, for that 
which is intended to gratify our vanity, for 
that which may encourage any of our carnal 
impulses, for that which would be only a mi- 
raculous display of divine power, we at once 
destroy the possibility of the Lord's compli- 
ance. If we ask God to do that which we 
can do ourselves, we thereby invite refusal. If 
we pray for the poor, and do not give them 
of our substance, we cut the wings of our sup- 
plication. If we pray for the spread of the 
gospel among the heathen, yet never do any- 
thing to support the cause of missions, our 
16 



242 



Things New and Old. 



actions contradict our words, and cast suspicion 
on the sincerity of our desire. If we pray 
without faith, and with no expectation that 
God will hear us, we are making a foolish use 
of an ordinance that is holy and sacred. If 
w r e pray for grace and pardon, yet are not 
willing to have the arrowhead of a favorite sin 
taken out of our hearts, we willfully deprive 
ourselves of that for which we are praying. A 
self-condemned transgressor can never make 
forcible supplication to the heavenly throne, 
until he has put on the robe of righteousness 
which God provides through Christ. It is the 
" effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man" 
that " availeth much," and not the listless and 
formal entreaty of the impenitent. Nine tenths 
of our petitions do not ascend to heaven, but 
fall flat at our feet by reason of some defect 
either in the prayer or in the suppliant. 

III. A third condition necessary to success- 
ful prayer is submissiveness to the divine will. 
To assume that our desire ought always to be 
the guide for the divine conduct toward us 
would be an almost blasphemous arrogance. It 
would imply a wisdom on our part superior to 



Efficacy of Prayer. 



243 



that of the Almighty. Not near as presump- 
tuous would it be for a five year old child 
to dictate to its father, as for the wisest 
Christian to expect God's will to be always 
his own. The father may do many things for 
the child in response to its loving entreaty, 
which he would not do without that entreaty, 
yet he always exercises a thoughtful discretion 
in granting its requests, and frequently smiles 
at the folly of the same. He gratifies its de- 
sire only when that desire corresponds with 
his judgment of what is best for the little one. 
In making our supplication to the Father in 
heaven we must expect a similar divine res- 
ervation, and should imitate the Savior's 
"Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." 
"They that seek the Lord shall not want any 
good thing," but it must be remembered that 
God will be the judge of what is good in each 
separate case, and that what seems good to us 
may not commend itself to his superior wis- 
dom. For God to grant our prayers indiscrim- 
inately, would be the greatest calamity to us, 
for we often ask for the very things we ought 
not have. We are too ignorant to set up our 
judgment against that of the Almighty in this 



244 



Things New and Old, 



matter. He always does what is best. He 
may refuse the thing we ask but gives us 
something better. ♦ The prophet Elijah once 
requested the Lord to take away his life. God 
answered his prayer by denying it, and show- 
ing him a way out of his discouraging situa- 
tion. Plainly the prophet erred in his suicidal 
prayer under that juniper tree, and what God 
did for him was far better than the literal 
fulfillment of his request. We ought always 
to be confident that our prayer will be heard, 
even though it be not in the manner our ig- 
norance had anticipated. 

" In spite of many broken dreams, 
This have I truly learned to say : 
The prayers I thought unanswered once 
Were answered in God's own best way." 



' ' Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended 
because of me this night : for it is written, I will smite 
the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered 
abroad. . . . . . . . . ... 

4 'Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Geth- 
semane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while 
I go and pray yonder. ...... 

"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry 
ye here, and watch with me. . . .... 

"And he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep, 
and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me 
one hour ? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temp- 
tation : the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 

— Matthew XXVI : 31-41. 



XIII. 



CHRIST IN THE GARDEN. 

JESUS partook of the passover on the night 
before his death. After that he instituted the 
holy communion of the Lord's Supper, which 
the church, through the ages, is to celebrate 
in remembrance of him. And immediately 
afterward sang a hymn of praise with his 
disciples. This hymn is contained in four 
psalms, the one hundred and fifteenth to the 
one hundred and eighteenth inclusive. It is 
the first and only time of which we read 
that Jesus sang with his disciples, but it is 
sufficient to sanction the use of song in the 
Church service. How beneficent and edifying 
is the power of music in the sanctuary, and 
how much there would be missing if it were 
omitted ! It may not be a means of grace 
as the sacraments are, but it has been justly 
called the ik divine art," is much akin to the 
(246) 



Christ in the Garden, 247 



genius of Christianity, and ministers greatly to 
the spirit of devotion. 

This the Christian church has always recog- 
nized, and from the earliest ages she has 
striven to move the affections of man towards 
God by the sweet strains of her sacred music. 
Next to the preached w 7 ord is the influence of 
song. How often it has melted the stony heart 
and made it susceptible to the Gospel ! In how 
many sad controversies it has banished the evil 
spirits, and brought peace out of discord and 
contention ! On what innumerable occasions it 
has lifted the soul of the worshipper heaven- 
ward by its seraphic melody ! At how many 
critical periods in the history of God's people 
it has charmed them and cheered them ! Those 
were undoubtedly the best days of the church 
when the voice of song was heard the most. 
It was Luther's singing w r hich made him and 
his followers invincible in the days of the Ref- 
ormation. John Wesley was a giant, yet he 
never w r ould have launched Methodism so suc- 
cessfully had it not been for the cooperation 
of his musical brother. The songs of Zion 
have had much to do with its triumphs. Their 
inspiring influence has often prevailed where 



248 



Things New and Old. 



reason and eloquence were powerless. They 
are, therefore, an important element in a prof- 
itable service, and should receive due promi- 
nence in the house of God. 

In connection with this first communion the 
Savior sang those four psalms. They refer to 
the Messiah, as you will learn by reading them. 
Had David, the author, known a thousand years 
before that the lips of Jesus would ever chant 
this song, his pen would have dropped from 
his fingers as he wrote. Throughout the Mo- 
saic economy millions of Israelites tuned their 
tongue to those sacred words and hymned that 
sublime production in public and in private, 
but no one ever rendered it with the same 
force and feeling as did Christ. He sang in 
it his own experiences and emotions, his tor- 
tures and agonies, his conflicts and triumphs. 
He was its own hero and entered into its 
spirit as no other being could. And, methinks, 
that as his divine voice rolled out into the air 
on that eventful night, the very angels in 
heaven must have listened enraptured and have 
been moved to sympathy. 

After the song, Jesus went forth with his 
disciples into the garden. And a dreadful jour- 



Christ in the Garden. 249 



ney it was. Under the shadow of the trees 
that holy man wandered with his eleven apos- 
tles. Thoughts of death were haunting his 
soul. The black flood of his anguish loomed 
up before his vision. The faithful disciples 
pressed closer around him as if they realized 
approaching danger. Perhaps a tear trickled 
down their cheeks. Quietly and solemnly they 
moved along. Not a word was spoken. Finally, 
Jesus opened his lips and broke the silence. 
And what did he say? 

I. First of all he made the significant remark 
recorded here in the text, "All ye shall be of- 
fended because of me this night : for it is 
written, I will smite the shepherd, and the 
sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." 
Pregnant words these ! " So it is written," said 
Jesus. And as it was written so it came to 
pass. It seemed impossible to the disciples 
that they would become offended at, or for- 
sake, their Master. The impetuous Peter made 
haste to assure him, " I will not be offended 
because of thee." In this he may have been 
sincere, speaking in ignorance of his own abil- 
ity. But Christ knew what should occur and 



250 



Tilings New and Old. 



said to him, " Before the cock crow thon 
shalt have denied me thrice." Still Peter an- 
swered, " Though I should die with thee, yet 
will I not deny thee." " Likewise also said all 
the disciples." 

Still another important remark the Savior 
made: ''Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath de- 
sired to have you, that he may sift you as 
wheat." What feelings this must have caused 
in the bosoms of the disciples ! At the very mo- 
ment when their only help and hope was to be 
taken from them, the Master proclaimed that 
the most dreaded of enemies was approaching. 
" Satan desires you, challenges you, has asked 
permission of God to attack you. A bitter, 
personal contest with this invisible but obsti- 
nate foe is before you. Arm yourselves ; watch 
and pray." And now the apostles are guilty of 
the strangest conduct in all their history. De- 
spite the Savior's warning that the Prince of 
Darkness is on their trail, they are slovenly and 
indifferent. Despite his exhortation to be 
ready, they are heedless and unprepared. He 
goes a stone's throw into the gloomy shades of 
the garden to wrestle with the powers of evil, 
and when he returns finds them asleep — quietly 



Christ in the Garden, 251 



slumbering while all around are hosts of de- 
mons waiting for the fray, slumbering as though 
no danger threatened. He exhorts them again 
to watchfulness and prayer, and goes back to 
renew the struggle. A second time he returns, 
and a second time, to his humiliation and an- 
guish, he finds them asleep. 

What wonder that they were disgracefully 
defeated in the spiritual conflict, and when the 
Savior walked into the jaws of death coward- 
ly forsook him and fled. If it were not 
sacred writ we could hardly believe the re- 
port of the Evangelist concerning this inci- 
dent, it seems so strange and incredible. To 
lie down and slumber in the face of relentless 
and marshaled opposition is extremely peril- 
ous. Does the sailor, when the storm is howl- 
ing, and the sea is raging, and the tattered 
sails sport in the hurricane like the flap of 
the death angel's wing — does the sailor then 
lie down to rest? Does the fireman, when the 
alarm bell strikes, and the threatening flames 
shoot upward, and men rush to and fro in 
wild excitement — does the fireman then delib- 
erately take his ease? When the midnight 
robber has forced an entrance into the dwell- 



2 5 2 



Tilings Xezv and Old. 



ing, is plundering its treasures, desecrating its 
sanctity, and pointing the glittering steel at 
the throat of its inmates, does the father 
then calmly hold his couch and permit his 
house to be despoiled? Yet the disciples, 
thrice warned of danger, thrice summoned to 
effort, with their dearest friend in the dust 
and blood of conflict, with the fiery darts of 
their strongest foe uplifted against them, with 
the yawning abyss of hell before them — the 
disciples calmly lie down to rest. The conse- 
quences are but natural. A sleeping man is 
powerless : a sluggish warrior cannot fight : a 
drowsy opponent is half conquered. It is 
madness for a dozy soldier to expect to be 
successful. In spiritual as well as in physical 
warfare, untiring vigilance is the price of 
victory. 

II. There is a further lesson to be learned 
from the Master's remarks on that eventful 
night. It is. that he bears the brunt of the 
battle, while his followers need only hold their 
post, that he does the difficult work, while 
they enjoy its fullest benefits. As we have 
seen 5 that little company entered into the his- 



Christ in the Garden. 253 



toric garden of Gethsemane ; the garden into 
which David once entered when he fled bare- 
footed and weary from his rebellious son Ab- 
salom ; the garden around which cluster many 
hallowed associations, and which to this day 
is visited by reverent Christians from every 
part of the world. Our own Dr. Bausman, in 
his book entitled " Sinai and Zion," tells us 
that there are eight monster olive trees, at 
least two thousand years old, still standing 
there in hoary grandeur, and with silent 
tongue tell the traveler what occurred beneath 
their boughs nineteen hundred years ago ; and 
are unquestioned witnesses that that is the 
very spot where Jesus prayed, and wrestled in 
agony until his bloody sw T eat moistened the 
ground. At the entrance to this garden he 
said to eight of his disciples, " Sit ye here, 
while I go and pray yonder." The only 
duty of those eight was to remain in sym- 
pathetic silence at the post where the Master 
commanded them. 

He gave them no onerous work to do, but 
volunteered himself to be the hero and the 
sufferer. " Sit ye here, while I go and pray 
and wrestle and conquer." This w r as the 



254 



Things New and Old. 



spirit of his whole career, for he became the 
voluntary substitute of his followers on every 
important and trying occasion. He took the 
most difficult part of every task, the most 
dangerous position in every conflict. He al- 
ways stood between his faithful ones and 
threatening injury. Whenever any great pur- 
pose was to be accomplished he always said, 
"I go ; remain ye." 

Once when man, of his own free will, had 
transgressed the divine command and thus 
placed himself in an attitude of rebellion 
against God, there was council held in the 
chambers of heaven as to what disposition 
should be made of the sinner. The voice of 
mercy was for leniency ; the voice of holiness 
and justice demanded satisfaction. The doom 
of man seemed sealed. Then came forth one 
of majestic presence, radiant eyes, and coun- 
tenance glistening like the sun, one who from 
all eternity had been the happy and well- 
beloved son of God, whose heart had never 
felt a pang and whose lips had never touched 
the cup of misery, and said, " Sit ye here, 
while I descend to the earth. Remain ye si- 
lent, till I am clothed in human flesh." And 



Christ in the Garden. 



255 



when he had come down to this sin-racked 
globe to meet the demands of justice, he 
said to men, " Sit ye here, while I go and 
die for you." His life was one of self-denial, 
his death one of self-sacrifice, his spirit that 
of relief and helpfulness. Such is his spirit 
to-day yet. He is ready to go, while we re- 
main ; he will work, while we sit down ; he 
will toil and we enjoy the fruits; he will fight 
and we profit by the victory and sing the 
song of triumph. Wherever he sees his fol- 
lowers in trouble he cries unto them, " Sit 
down. Cast your burdens upon me and I 
will bear them." 

III. Another point we glean from this 
passage is, that while Jesus was truly man 
he was also more than man, He took his 
three favorite disciples the farthest with him, 
in order that they might be eyewitnesses of 
the struggle, and afterwards record its super- 
natural features for the benefit of coming 
generations. It seems that Christ felt the 
need of having true friends around him in 
the time of anguish, even as we do. How 
consoling it is, in the days of trouble, to 



256 



Things New and Old. 



have near you those who are willing to pray 
with you and comfort you out of God's 
Word. Have you never been in great af- 
fliction ? Has sorrow never come upon you 
with a crushing and overwhelming weight ? 
Have you not at some time been so sur- 
rounded with difficulties that you became 
utterly discouraged and could see no way of 
escape from the gradually contracting circle that 
threatened you ? If you have, then you know 
what it is to need a friend, one on whom 
you can rely, one who has confidence in you 
and who will stand by you though all others 
have turned away. Even the Savior felt this 
need, for he was truly human, " like unto 
us in all things, sin excepted." For this 
reason he gathered his three intimates around 
him and said unto them, " My soul is sor- 
rowful, even unto death. Stay near me now. 
Watch and pray with me." A few moments 
later we look into the garden, and at the 
entrance see eight disciples sitting upon the 
ground; a little further on we see three 
lying fast asleep ; a stone's throw further we 
see Christ. In what condition? Trembling, 
trembling like an aspen leaf. And why? 



Christ in the Garden. 257 



There are no enemies in sight. Does he 
tremble at the prospect . of crucifixion ? No, 
for he voluntarily submits to it. Yet look 
upon that fairest of men, the one altogether 
lovely. See how his body grows torpid, his 
members stiffen in pain and quiver in agony. 
What has come over him? Is it sickness? 
Does sudden indisposition prostrate him ? 
No, it is not physical illness, but the suffer- 
ing of the soul. He cries, " My soul!" O, 
that pain ! A hundredfold keener than that 
of the body. Yet it is all voluntary. 

This incident is an enigma to the world. 
They do not understand it. Thousands have 
used it to bring Christ down to the level of 
a mere man. The infidel says to the Christian : 
" Here you can see what your Savior is. He 
taught you not to fear death, yet he himself 
fears it. He taught you to submit to the will 
of God, yet he prays three times, ' Father, let 
this cup pass from me/ He does not carry 
out his own teachings. He is a coward. His 
disciples and thousands of others showed more 
courage than he. The martyrs quailed not. 
They marched to the scaffold and the flame 
with melody on their lips. Even delicate maid- 
17 



258 



Things New and Old. 



ens joyfully met the King of terrors. But 
your Savior trembles like a weakling." 

Thus the infidel. And he talks in this way 
because he does not understand the meaning 
of that suffering. If Christ had been a mere 
man, if his object had been simply to give an 
exhibition of fearlessness in the face of death, 
and submission to the will of God, then he 
has been surpassed by many others. But to 
us, who regard him more than man, those 
prayers and that sweat of blood have a different 
meaning. We know that it is written, " God 
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin." 
This is the key to the mystery of Gethsemane. 
As long as we do not recognize Christ as our 
mediator, his conduct in the garden will be to 
us a riddle. There is no reasonable explanation 
of it. But we must remember that he ap- 
peared there vicariously ; that he is the one of 
whom Isaiah said : " He was wounded for our 
transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities." 
We must call to mind the out-stretched finger 
and the emphatic utterance of John the Bap- 
tist, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sins of the world." We must think 
of Paul's declaration that Jesus was " made a 



Christ in the Garden. 



259 



curse for us." God's wrath against sinful men 
lay upon him ; and that is what crushed him 
to the earth and made him tremble. That in- 
visible cup in the hand of the Lord contained 
the dreadful cause of the Savior's agony. In 
that cup, the cup of sorrow and woe, was con- 
tained the awful debt of suffering and death, 
contracted by a sinful race, and which we could 
not have paid and survived. That even Christ 
should hesitate to drink it is but natural, and 
that he finally did drink it to the very dregs 
is amazing. To think of what it meant is 
sufficient explanation of the struggle in the 
garden, and convinces us that Christ was more 
than human. 

"On his pale brow the drops are large and red 
As victim's blood at votive alter shed — 
His hands are clasped, his eyes are raised in prayer- 
Alas, and is there strife he cannot bear, 
Who calmed the tempest, and who raised the dead ? 
There is ! there is ! for now the powers of hell 
Are struggling for the mastery — 'tis the hour 
When death exerts his last permitted power, 
When the dead weight of sin, since Adam fell, 
Is visited on him who deigned to dwell 
A man with men, that he might bear the stroke 
Of wrath divine, and break the captive's yoke — 
But O, of that dead strife what words can tell? 



26o 



Tilings New and Old. 



Those, only those which broke with many a groan 
From his full heart — " O Father, take away 
The cup of vengeance I must drink to-day; 
Yet, Father, not my will, but thine, be done ! " 
It could not pass away — for he alone 
Was mighty to endure and strong to save; 
Nor would Jehovah leave him in the grave, 
Nor could corruption taint his Holy One." 



"And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get 
into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while 
he sent the multitudes away. 

"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up 
into a mountain apart to pray. .... 

"And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he 
walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind 
boisterous, he was afraid ; and beginning to sink, he cried, 
saying, Lord, save me. .... 

"And when they were come into the ship, the wind 
ceased." — Matthew XIV : 22-32. 



XIV. 



THE DISCIPLES IN THE STORM. 

In his human nature, Christ was like unto us 
in all points, sin excepted. He was tempted, 
he could easily be touched with a feeling of 
our infirmities, he needed rest at times. Though 
in constant communion with his heavenly 
Father, he was still conscious of the need of 
special hours of prayer. Though he had so 
much work to do with others, yet he spent 
some time alone in devotion. We see here how 
he w r ent into a mountain apart and tarried 
there the entire night in prayer. The fact that 
it was stormy and tempestuous did not curtail 
his devotions. It is probable that he remained 
in retirement until the fourth watch of the 
night. As God he was Lord of all and was 
prayed to by others, but as man he felt the 
need of private communion with God and fre- 
quently sought it. In this respect he differed 
(262) 



The Disciples in the Storm, 263 



from many persons now-a-days, not only people 
of the world but even Christians. There are 
many professed followers of Christ who never 
take time to pray or hold communion with 
God. They are so engrossed in their daily work 
that they do not see how they can spend even 
an hour in quiet meditation. They are perfect 
slaves to their calling. They walk so steadily 
the treadmill of their daily occupation, that 
they become utterly mechanical and almost for- 
get that they are human. They rush so madly 
after their own business, that they loss sight 
totally of their " Father's business." ■ In their 
desperate struggle for " the meat that perish- 
eth " they imperil the welfare of both body and 
soul. We have heard of the Englishman who 
spent years in constructing a machine and then 
said of it, "This machine will some day destroy 
me." He meant that he would become so ab- 
sorbed in it as to make wreck of himself in 
every part of his being. 

This has been the experience of multitudes. 
They have become so absorbed in their secu- 
lar pursuits that all the better instincts of 
their nature have been quenched. To work 
is a divine commandment, but to work 



264 



Things New and Old. 



incessantly is not. There are duties superior to 
those of our temporal occupation. Our spirit- 
ual interests are paramount to any other. We 
have in mind a woman, who, after listening 
to a sermon on this subject, recently came to 
the minister and said, " Hitherto I thought I 
was here to work, but now I feel that I am 
here to be saved." How true this is, not 
only in her case but in every other, also ! 
Yet how comparatively few there are who 
recognize it! The common conception is that 
we are here to work. And the common ex- 
cuse for the neglect of religious duty is, " no 
time." With this platitude, business men and 
others ward off the claims of the church on 
their attention. With this specious plea, they 
seek to satisfy you as well as their own con- 
sciences. But, alas, it so often occurs that 
those who have no time for God are com- 
pelled to take time. They become sick. The 
physician is called and pronounces their case 
serious. " They are worn-out and must have 
rest" is his diagnosis and prescription. They 
must be off to the south, or to the moun- 
tains, or to the seashore. There is no other 
alternative ; they must either drop their busi- 



The Disciples in the Storm, 265 

ness or prepare to die. Then the man who 
had not one hour for God, and who would 
not give even five minutes of patient atten- 
tion to the minister and his plea, must drop 
his business for an indefinite period and 
hasten away to regain his health. Or it may 
be that the Lord lays more violent hold of 
him than that and casts him immediately on 
a couch of sickness, where, lying helpless on his 
back, he must do what seemed impossible for 
him to do in the days of his health, namely, 
look up to heaven. It is always profitable to 
have time enough for the serious things of 
the spirit, for if we do not voluntarily we 
will be compelled to later on. We have no 
more important work than Christ had and 
our spiritual needs are even greater than his. 
We do well, therefore, to keep in mind the 
hours he gave to prayer and communion with 
God. 

We need Christ with us always, as the dis- 
ciples needed him that night on Gennesareth. 
They were caught in a terrific tempest and 
their ship threatened to go to the bot- 
tom. But the moment Christ stepped into the 
ship the wind ceased. Storms will come to us 



266 



Things New and Old, 



also in our lives. Our little bark will be se- 
verely buffeted by the winds and the waves. 
The presence of Christ will then have a sooth- 
ing effect and will save us from disaster. 
How much we need some one at the helm 
as we sail the sea of life. There will be 
gusts of trouble and inconvenience. We will 
become agitated. This is particularly proba- 
ble with those who are hot-headed, as some 
of us are. It requires no great cause to stir 
up our anger. Something goes wrong in the 
family. " Household affairs are at sixes and 
sevens. A few thoughtless words are ex- 
changed and soon there is a brisk domestic 
breeze blowing. Something happens in the 
workshop ; through some one's carelessness 
things go awry, and soon there is a wind 
agoing that rivals in its bluster the roar of 
the steam fanner. In the office some message 
of disappointment, some letter with unpleas- 
ant contents is received, and immediately we 
storm. Our angry passions find vent in hasty 
words and are inflamed by the current thus cre- 
ated. We sputter and scold, and make our- 
selves disagreeable to those who are about us. 
You say, " Oh, I cannot help that. It is my 



The Disciples in the Storm. 267 

nature to be so. I was born with an irasci- 
ble temper, and I cannot refrain from an out- 
burst of wrath when I am irritated." But that 
does not excuse you. You ought to be able 
to control yourself. It is much better to be 
cool and composed than to be angry and 
violent. In such a moment of ill temper 
you may do more mischief than your whole 
life can ever repair. You cannot always take 
back the injury that you do to those hearts 
that throb nearest to you. You may relent 
and repent, but that may not retract the 
scorpion bitterness of your angry words. In 
one short hour of ungoverned wrath you 
may do such damage as angels cannot make 
good. It is better to have control of the pas- 
sions and to " possess one's soul in patience." 
And this is possible. Though you were born 
with an impetuous nature, you can conquer it 
by grace. Peter was by nature preeminently 
hot-headed. He became easily excited, and 
when in that state of mind was inclined to be 
violent. James and John were of the same dis- 
position. They were justly called Boanerges 
or " the sons of thunder," for on one occasion 
they wanted to invoke fire from heaven to 



268 



Tilings New and Old. 



destroy the inhabitants of an inhospitable vil- 
lage in Samaria. John afterwards became mild 
as an evening zephyr. His very name is to 
us now a synonym of tenderness and love. 
How was this great change effected? Not by his 
own efforts, but by the Spirit of God. Read 
the letter to the Galatians, and you will see 
how such a w r onderful transformation is achieved. 
" This I say, then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye 
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Xow the 
works of the flesh are manifest, which are 
these : Hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, 
strife, seditions, etc. But the fruit of the spirit 
is love, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness. 
And they that are Christ's have crucified the 
flesh with the affections and lusts." You can- 
not change yourself, but the Spirit of God 
can. If you submit yourself to be led by him, 
you will no longer be in the power of sin 
or under the condemnation of the law. It is 
as if the apostle had said : You must expect 
a struggle between flesh and spirit as long as 
you are in the world, but if, in the prevailing 
bent of your life, you be led by the Spirit — 
if you act under the guidance and govern- 
ment of that spiritual nature and disposition 



The Disciples in the Storm. 269 



which the Holy Spirit works in you — if you 
make the Word of God your rule, and the 
grace of God your principle — you will not be 
the slave of your passion ; there will be such 
a change in you that these things will not 
greatly affect you. 

And surely it is always best to be calm and 
self-possessed. The example of Paul, in that 
memorable shipwreck off the shores of Malta, 
is a fine illustration of this. The sailors had 
done everything that the navigation of that 
day suggested, but in vain. The ship seemed 
doomed to destruction. They were in a sore 
emergency. Despair laid hold of them and 
they thought of nothing but their own personal 
safety. And when all — to use a common ex- 
pression — had " lost their heads/' one man re- 
tained his calmness and courage. The Christian 
prisoner then stepped forward, and, by his brave 
composure, inspired the men with confidence, 
so that they obeyed directions and finally 
reached the shore without the loss of a single life. 

The same truth is exemplified daily by a 
hundred occurrences in our own surroundings. 
There was a fire not long ago. At the time 
of its discovery it was just a little blaze, but 



2/0 



Things New and Old. 



there was tinder enough in its reach to pro- 
duce, a great conflagration. One man became 
excited and rushed aimlessly about talking loudly 
and gesticulating wildly. He accomplished noth- 
ing. The flame continued to spread unhindered. 
Another man appeared on the scene. He was 
calm as a marble statue. With the utmost 
composure he gave directions to his comrades, 
and in a short time the fire was extinguished. 
The news journals in every issue contain ac- 
counts of panics and their disastrous results. 
In some public assembly some one, either with 
or without cause, raises the cry of fire. In a 
moment the audience is overcome with fright 
and begins to stampede. Most dreadful con- 
sequences are impending, when some cool- 
headed speaker arises on the platform and by 
his tranquil demeanor and steady voice calls 
the people to their senses. His perfect self- 
control has saved the lives of many of his fel- 
low citizens. 

There are spiritual emergencies fraught with 
as great danger, both to one's self and others. 
There are times when men around us become 
greatly agitated. Some sudden frenzy lays 
hold of them, and they are liable to rush head- 



The Disciples in the Storm. 271 



long into moral danger, or to become danger- 
ous themselves. In their mad career they be- 
come reckless and violent. There is need then 
of some one to be firm and reasonable, to ut- 
ter a few deliberate and cautionary words and 
thus quiet the agitated spirits. It is always 
safest to be calm and circumspect even in the 
most trying emergencies. As the lamented 
Holmes said : 

"Don't catch the fidgets; you have found your place 
Just in the focus of a nervous race, 
Fretful to change, and rabid to discuss, 
Full of excitements, always in a fuss. 
Think of the patriarchs; then compare as men 
These lean-cheeked maniacs of the tongue and pen! 
Run like a man, but don't be worked to death; 
And with new notions — let me change the rule — 
Don't strike the iron till its slightly cool." 

We need Christ with us constantly. The 
dangers and temptations of life are many. We 
meet them on every hand and in various de- 
grees. We cannot always conquer them by the 
Parthian warfare, namely, by running away. 
They must be met, and without the presence 
and help of the divine Savior we may be over- 
come. But his hand can defend us and his 



272 



Things New and Old. 



nearness cheer us on. It should be remembered, 
however, that he will not come to us except we 
are in the pathway of duty. Peter wanted to 
walk on the water. There was no need of that. 
It was a venturous and uncalled-for undertak- 
ing. He might just as well have remained in 
the ship or have taken a small boat to trans- 
port himself. He began to sink, and without 
the Savior's mercy would have perished. To 
court unnecessary danger is a great risk, and 
there is no promise of protection to those who 
presume to do it. Our commission is to do 
the will of the Father and to finish his work. 
If, in pursuance of that purpose, we encounter 
danger, we can rely on the help of God, other- 
wise not. Whatever perils seem to threaten us 
in the discharge of our duty, or in the pursuit 
of our calling, we need not fear them. The 
pastor and physician are called, by their voca- 
tion, to stand by the side of the sick bed, where 
the poisonous breath of contagion is wafted 
upon them. The carpenter must go to the top 
of the giddy scaffold, where one false, stum- 
bling step may send him to destruction. The 
sailor must go out upon the watery deep, where 
the stormy billows may speedily engulf him. 



The Disciples in the Storm. 273 

The miner must go down into the bowels of 
the earth, where subterranean floods or gaseous 
explosions constantly threaten him. Yet if a 
man is conscientious and feels that he is doing 
the will of God, he need fear no evil. He is 
always in the hands of the Almighty. If he 
needlessly and in the spirit of mere bravado, 
exposes himself to danger, then, of course, he 
cannot count on divine protection. If, like 
Captain Webb, he throws himself into the 
whirlpool of the Niagara simply to give an ex- 
hibition of physical daring, then, like Webb, he 
will probably lose his life. If, like Ben Fuller, 
he leaps from the highest pinnacle of Tower 
Bridge down into the shallow Thames, a hun- 
dred and forty feet below him, simply to show 
his courage, then, like Fuller, he will probably 
meet his death. But if he has not willfully 
courted danger, if he has used all proper pre- 
caution, and observed all the rules of self-pres- 
ervation, he can be of good cheer. Neither 
man nor devil can harm him then. Not even a 
hair can fall from his head contrary to the will 
of God. He can look into the future with the 
utmost confidence and say with David, "Yea, 

though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
18 



274 



Tilings Neve and Old, 



of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with 
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 

We need to repeat and emphasize, in con- 
elusion, the first lesson of this Scripture, 
namely, the importance of prayer. The Sav- 
ior's course is well worthy of being carefully 
observed by us. He did not consider the 
time spent in prayer as wasted. An entire 
night was none too long for him to spend in 
retirement and devotion. He seemed the bet- 
ter prepared by it for the labors of the suc- 
ceeding day. The men who have been strong- 
est in prayer have always been bravest in 
action. England never had a better general 
than Havelock. And he never would allow 
himself to be robbed of the morning hour of 
devotion. Xo matter what the exigencies were 
he preempted his time for prayer. The most 
courageous soldier of modern times was Gen- 
eral Gordon, or. as he was commonly called, 
" Chinese " Gordon. He was absolutely fear- 
less of anyone but God, yet he was a saint, 
and prayed often and fervently. The little flag 
on his tent in the morning always indicated that 
he was upon his knees and would not be 
disturbed. One of the ablest statesmen of 



The Disciples in the Storm. 



275 



the age is William Ewart Gladstone, "the 
grand old man." Yet, with all the press of 
public duties, he never neglects his private de- 
votions. May we not rightly conclude that the 
piety and prayerfulness of these men stands re- 
lated to their greatness as cause to effect ? It 
is certain that the morning hour in the closet 
was no small factor in the honorable career 
of these and multitudes of others. Their lives 
should be to us an inspiration to be prayerful 
and live prayerfully. The old motto, " Work and 
pray" is a good one to adopt. Only we would 
reverse the order and make it, " Pray and 
work." Prayer is the more important of the 
two and should always come first. It is the best 
possible preparation for the duties of the day. 

(< My God! is. any hour so sweet, 

From blush of morn to evening star, 
As that which calls me to thy feet — 
The hour of prayer. 

" Words cannot tell what blest relief 
Here from my every want I find, 
What strength for warfare, balm for grief; 
What peace of mind. 

1 ' Hushed is each doubt; gone every fear; 
My spirit seems in heaven to stay. 
And e'en the penitential tear 
Is wiped away." 



"Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, 
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are writ- 
ten by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be 
accomplished. 

"For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall 
be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on : 

"And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: 
and the third day he shall rise again." — Luke XVIII: 31-34. 



XV. 



THE SAVIOR'S PASSION. 

We are now in that season of the church 
year which the calendar designates as Lent. 
It comprises the forty days preceding Easter, 
and is observed in memory of and out of re- 
spect to the sufferings of Christ. There are 
those who believe that it was instituted by the 
apostles. For this, however, there is no author- 
ity. History clearly establishes that it is of 
ecclesiastical institution, and consequently not 
binding upon us in its requirements. 

The manner in which this period of devotion 
is observed by a great many people is deserv- 
ing of criticism. They seem to look upon it 
as a kind of expiation for previous negligence. 
All the rest of the year they feel free to pursue 
pleasure and engage in various amusements, 
some of them even of a rather questionable 
character. Especially in the weeks preceding 

(277) 



278 



Things New and Old. 



Lent do they make the rounds of fashionable 
entertainments, throw themselves with abandon 
into the open arms of frivolity, and apparently 
strive to crowd the greatest possible amount 
of secularism and dissipation into that privi- 
leged season. Then suddenly they drop into 
a period of abstinence, which suggests the sus- 
picion that it is an attempt to make satisfaction 
for previous digressions. 

Yet this is only the abuse of an intrinsic- 
ally commendable arrangement. As a volun- 
tary and sincere testimonial of reverence for 
a suffering Savior, as a time of scrupulous 
self-examination and contrition for sin, the ob- 
servance of Lent is of virtue. It does not 
exclude daily thought upon the great scheme 
of redemption and our relation to it, but 
simply encourages a deeper sense of obliga- 
tion and gratitude to the divine love than 
usual. 

Among God's chosen people of old there 
were such seasons of seriousness. When Israel 
had sinned against Jehovah, and he punished 
them with pestilence or famine, a fast was 
proclaimed throughout the land so that the 
people might humble themselves before God 



The Savior s Passion. 



and he, perchance, might spare them. At 
such times all wordly joy was banished, the 
appetites were denied and the members mor- 
tified. The penitents girded sackcloth about 
their loins, strewed ashes upon their heads 
and sat down in the dust. The whole na- 
tion had but one cry, namely, " God have 
mercy upon us, and remove this plague." 

Far more solemn than this, however, is the 
Lenten season of the Christian church. It 
calls to remembrance the greatest sin ever 
committed, the crucifixion of the Son of God, 
the cruel torturing of the innocent, mild-hearted 
Jesus. It reminds us also of the greatest 
love ever manifested toward man, and the vi- 
carious atonement for our guilt by the Re- 
deemer's passion and death. " Surely he 
hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 
He was wounded for our transgressions and 
bruised for our iniquities." This certainly is 
reason for fasting and penitence. This fully 
warrants a period of devout meditation upon 
the tragic close of the Savior's life. And 
what an edifying thought it is that during 
these weeks, well-nigh all Christendom bows 
in grief and looks adoringly toward Calvary: 



28o 



Things New and Old. 



that in these days not one nation but many 
nations, the whole race of God's people upon 
the earth, are considering that important event 
that transpired eighteen hundred years ago. 
We lift up our eyes toward the sun at noon- 
day and are impressed with the thought that 
myriads of other men are gazing at that same 
orb, and that it is the constant cynosure of 
millions of our race. Yet there is one event 
in the world's history which attracts far more 
attention than even that day-star on high. It 
is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. From 
every age and from every quarter of the uni- 
verse multitudes of the redeemed, their hearts 
filled with gratitude and their eyes brimming 
with love, are looking upon Golgotha. We 
are never alone in contemplating the cross of 
Calvary, for it is the most conspicuous ob- 
ject in the universe, the central point of the 
church militant as well as the church triumph- 
ant. 

I. The text presents us the Master before 
his crucifixion, gathering his disciples around 
him and calling upon them to go with him 
to Jerusalem. And as the Lord at that time 



The Savior s Passion. 



281 



took his followers into his confidence and 
told them of the dreadful experience awaiting 
him, so now he communicates to the whole 
church his approaching humiliation and sorrow, 
and asks every Christian to be with him in 
spirit, and to consider seriously his great 
agony. It is but meet, therefore, that we 
should be sympathetic and translate ourselves 
into a real passion mood. Should anyone 
ask, "What is that ? How can I acquire 
that frame of mind?" I answer: If you can 
truly feel that all the solemn transactions of 
the Savior, at the close of his eventful career, 
were in your stead and in your interest ; if 
you can sincerely say, u For me Christ prayed 
in the garden ; for me he w r as tried ; for me 
he w r as scourged and spit upon ; for me he 
dragged the heavy cross to Golgotha ; for 
me he went into hellish torment of soul 
and body, and for me he died" — if you can 
say this, then you are in a real passion 
mood; then these weeks of Lent will be to 
you a blessing ; then you will deny yourself 
of every sensual pleasure, and resolve that 
you will have no earthly joy in these days 
when the Savior was so sorrowful. And this 



282 Things New and Old. 



is what the church demands of you now, ab- 
stinence from the world, and absorption into 
the spirit of humility and penitence. 

The beginning of the Master's sufferings 
was an important crisis in his life. His heart 
must have palpitated with anxiety and his 
voice have trembled with emotion. He says 
to the apostles, " Behold we go up to Jeru- 
salem." For three years Christ had jour- 
neyed through the land, teaching the ignorant, 
encouraging the despondent, sustaining the 
weak, and dropping blessings upon the heads 
of the unfortunate. His name was a house- 
hold word. The people cherished the highest 
hopes, and expected him to become their 
ruler and deliverer. But now his earthly star 
is waning. A dark, portentous cloud hangs 
over him. He goes for the last time to the 
capital of the country, and desires the dis- 
ciples to go with him that they may be 
witnesses of his conduct. But they are sus- 
picious of evil and have no inclination to go 
into that hotbed of Jewish bigotry. They 
remind him of the treatment he had received 
there, of the Pharisees who had threatened to 
stone him, and try to pursuade him to remain 



The Savior s Passion. 



283 



aloof% Yet Thomas, more resolute than the oth- 
ers, finally says, " Let us go and die with him." 

This same request of the Savior comes to 
us to-day in a spiritual sense. The question 
for us to decide is, "Will we go? Will we 
make the journey to that ancient city?" Con- 
sider well before you reach a conclusion. Re- 
flect upon the nature of the visit. There will 
be no mirth and no merry-making. It will not 
be a delightful spring excursion. There will be 
nothing attractive to the eye or pleasing to 
the flesh. At Jerusalem you will see all man- 
ner of abominations. There are men in every 
stage of wickedness, from the red-handed mur- 
derer on the throne, to the basest wretch among 
the rabble. There is about to be committed 
the most awful of tragedies. If you love the 
world, you will not go. If your heart cleaves 
to pleasure, you will not go. In Jerusalem 
are only pain and tears and blood. Instead 
of gayety and revelry there are groans and 
lamentations. Everything must be fulfilled 
which was written by the prophets. The ami- 
able Jesus, our Savior and friend, must be 
" stricken, smitten of God and afflicted." The 
guilt of a rebellious race he must carry upon 



284 



Things New and Cla. 



his innocent shoulders. The righteous wrath 
of an offended God toward his wayward crea- 
tures he must endure. And what that means 
no tongue can tell. To suffer the conse- 
quences of that sin which God hates with a 
relentless hatred, is an experience of unspeak- 
able woe. The sting of a single transgression 
is exceedingly bitter ; but the effect of the 
accumulated iniquity of an entire race is in- 
computable. 

We gain a faint conception of this accursed 
thing when we look at Jehovah's treatment of 
it at various times. In the smiling garden of 
Eden dwells a lovely parent pair, the first 
from God's creative hand. They yield for 
once to the seductive plea of evil, and swift 
retribution comes upon them. The fair para- 
dise is blasted with mildew, the flowers fade, 
and the guilty ones are banished from its gates 
by the angel's flaming sword. 

Two thousand years later the world is 
steeped in sin to such an extent that among 
millions but one righteous man remains. The 
Lord is filled with indignation and refuses 
to strive any longer with the spirit of man. 
He draws back the bolts of heaven, and the 



The Savior s Passion, 



285 



floods pour down from above ; he opens the 
fountains of the great deep, and the waters 
well up from beneath. The deluge covers 
the earth, so that men and women sink be- 
neath its shoreless waves to rise no more. 

We read of the citizens of Sodom that they 
were sinful exceedingly, that the voice of their 
iniquity cried up from the ground. And God 
did not fail to manifest his displeasure. With 
the eye of the spirit we see his avenging hand 
raised in their destruction. We see the fire 
descend from heaven like one vast sheet of 
flame. We see forks of lightning flashing down 
into the accursed city. We hear the shrieks 
of the people who are caught in the fiery con- 
flagration. Our ears echo with the howling of 
the tortured beasts, as they hasten to escape 
the impending doom. We see the last breath 
of life extinct, and then, with a sudden con- 
vulsion, the heavy waters of the Dead Sea del- 
uged upon this chaos and desolation, to hide 
it from the eye of God and man to this day. 

Reflect upon these awful consequences of 
sin and you will have some idea of the Savior's 
sorrow and agony at Jerusalem. Remember, 
also, that these visitations were but the punish- 



286 



Tilings New and Old, 



ment of one age or one nation, while Christ 
bore the penalty of all ages and of all nations. 
If a part only of human guilt was so terrible 
in its effects, what must have been the com- 
bined force of the whole ! All the sins which 
God saw in those ancient people when he rained 
destruction upon them, he saw multiplied a 
thousand times as he looked upon his Son on 
that sad Friday morning. All the sins that 
man ever committed rested upon the shoulders 
of Jesus, because he was truly man, because he 
was a voluntary victim in our stead, because 
he stepped in between our nature that was 
to be destroyed and the arm of the Father 
uplifted for retribution. Remember that 
the strokes of divine justice that w T ould have 
ruined you and me and sunk us into the pit 
of perdition, were showered by the hand of 
God upon our Lord Jesus Christ. If you go 
up to Jerusalem in faith this is what you will 
witness, and if you go in the right mood it 
cannot but solemnize you and be a source of 
blessing to you. 

II. But again, we should ask, what is the 
cause and the import of this suffering ? Not 



The Savior s Passion, 



287 



only for whom, but why all this ? We should 
seek to comprehend the mystery better. The 
disciples did not understand Jesus when he 
spoke to them of approaching events. His 
remarks were a riddle to them until after the 
resurrection, when the Spirit descended, opened 
their minds and guided them into all truth. 
So there are many Christians now who do not 
understand the passion of the Master. It is 
to them a mystery. If they comprehended it in 
all its bearings they would be filled w T ith rever- 
ence and amazement, and w r ould sink before 
the cross in devout adoration, saying, " The 
cause of this suffering are we. The object of 
this agony is our redemption." 

When we consider the crucifixion of Christ 
we probably think only of the Jews who killed 
him, and inwardly load them with our male- 
dictions because of their inhuman conduct. 
Yet they could not have done that without 
divine permission, for Christ said, " No man 
taketh my life from me, I lay it down of my- 
self." It was our transgressions that produced 
the necessity of his sacrifice. We are all to 
blame. When Achan was convicted of crime, 
Joshua gave word that every man of the Jew- 



288 



Things New and Old, 



ish nation should take a stone in his hand 
and fling it at him. Then the people of 
Israel came and stoned him to death. So 
every son of man, from Adam down to the 
last that shall be born on the earth, every 
human being that ever breathed the breath of 
God's creation in this world, was there in that 
dreadful hour to throw his sins upon the 
defenseless form of Christ. There is none 
who can justly say, " Jesus did not die for 
me. Had it been left to my option he 
would never have been slain." Christ bore 
the iniquity of every one of us. " The 
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and 
by his stripes we are healed." What an in- 
finite debt of gratitude every Christian owes 
the Savior for his voluntary sufferings in our 
stead ! 

Would that I had the speech of the 
golden-mouthed Chrvsostom. Would that I 
could adequately portray the depth of the 
Savior's agony. It would not fail to produce 
appreciation and grateful recognition. I would 
begin to tell of his entrance into the gloomy 
solitude of Gethsemane's garden, where he 
went a little distance from his favorite 



The Savior s Passion. 



289 



apostles, knelt down and prayed. And what 
did he pray? " Oh, Father, if it be possible, 
let this cup pass from me." " He saw the 
great army of sins closing around him. He 
saw the pit of hell open before him, and 
its busy demons preparing for the conflict. 
For a moment his heart quavered and he 
cried for relief. But soon he summoned his 
courage and said, ' Not my will but thine 
be done.' Then he turned and bared his 
innocent bosom, put out his sinless arms, and 
allowed the flood of iniquity to roll in upon 
him and overwhelm him. All the lusts and 
wickedness of men, all the impurities and 
idolatries of ungodly nations, all the sins 
that ever appeared under the eye of God's 
anger, fell upon him like the waves of the 
ocean coming in and falling upon a solitary 
man who kneels alone upon the shore. As 
he rises, methinks, he can scarcely recognize 
himself. His hands that he had lifted up in 
prayer are now red with ten thousand deeds 
of blood, for all the crimes of the race were 
transferred to him. He. sees within himself 
all the hideous forms of sin and of conse- 
quent miseries that have ever existed, all the 
19 



290 



Things New and Old. 



desolation and ruin, broken hearts and weeping 
eyes of the ages. He hears all the sobs and 
groans and filthy blasphemies that have come 
from human lips since the fall. It is an experi- 
ence he can scarcely endure. It weakens him. 
He sinks to the earth writhing in agony. The 
blood oozes from the pores of his body and 
reddens his garments like his who has trodden 
the wine press. " We placed him there, your 
sins and mine, and the sins of humanity. Yet 
was there one son of man that bowed down 
by the side of that prostrate form and whis- 
pered a word of sympathy and consolation 
into his ear. He found his most intimate 
disciples asleep and said to them, " What, 
can ye not watch with me one hour?" " My 
soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death." 
Such was the Savior's condition when the 
false, penurious Judas tracked him through 
the darkness of the night and gave him the 
treacherous kiss. He is dragged by rude 
men to the high priest's palace, and thence 
to Pilate's court. There the soldiers scourge 
him until his body is fearfully lacerated. 
Then they amuse themselves at his kingly 
pretensions, put a faded purple robe upon 



The Savior s Passion. 



291 



him, a crown of thorns upon his brow, and 
a reed into his hand in mockery of royalty. 
In answer to Pilate's question they cry, " He 
is not our king. We have no king but 
Caesar. Crucify him, crucify him." With 
Pilate's unwilling consent the cross is placed 
upon his shoulders, and he toils away toward 
Calvary. The burden, however, is too great 
for his weakened frame, and he totters to 
the earth. Another with stronger limbs car- 
ries it to the brow of the hill. What there 
transpired you know. To give an adequate 
description of that day's experience is impos- 
sible. I will not speak of the crucifixion or 
attempt to tell what was implied in that 
awful cry, " My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" The final hour comes 
when he gives up the ghost, and the spirit, 
from its incumbrance of clay, rises out of 
the black flood of torture into the hands of 
the Father. Ought we not be grateful and 
say with the poet, 

" Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
That were a tribute far too small, 
Love so amazing, so divine, 

Demands my life, my soul, my all." 



292 Things New and Old, 

III. Again we may ask, "To what does 
this suffering bind us?" If Jesus desired to 
accomplish our welfare thereby, we ought 
gladly to accept its results. It demands of 
us faith. " Whosoever believeth in me shall 
not perish, but have everlasting life." This 
faith is a firm trust in the merits of Christ, 
a living confidence that " there is no other 
name under heaven, given among men, 
whereby we can be saved." It obligates us 
to put aside all self-righteousness, all spiritual 
pride, and that vain notion that we can be 
saved by our own merit. Whatever pride 
may say, it is still true that " there is no 
other name by which we can be saved." 
" Without faith it is impossible to please 
God." The suffering of Jesus binds us to 
give our hearts to him, so that he alone 
may dwell in us, and we may say with Paul, 
" I live, yet not I, but God in me." The 
suffering of Jesus binds us to lay off sin. 
When we remember that sin is the cause of 
all this pain, how can we desire to continue 
it. The Roman Catholic church lays much 
stress upon fasting. Its members are required 
to abstain from certain kinds of food during 



The Savior s Passion. 293 

this season. Such abstinence is not of much 
importance. The principal thing is to abstain 
from sin. The sufferings of Christ bind us 
in all our sorrows to flee to him for refuge. 
We ought to be thankful that we can go to 
him, and that he has said, " Come unto me." 
He is ready to receive us under all circum- 
stances. He had compassion on us in the 
greatest of all our dangers and interposed on 
our behalf. He certainly will not forget us 
now. Whatever trial or heartache we may 
have, we can go to him and he will either re- 
move it or give us grace sufficient to bear it. 



77 



